January 13, 2006 By BRIAN KNOWLTON International Herald Tribune
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 - Germany's new chancellor, Angela Merkel, met with President Bush at the White House today in what he described as a "spirited" but respectful one-on-one session, as Mrs. Merkel challenged American treatment of terror suspects but lent strong support to joint diplomatic efforts to defuse the standoff with Iran.
Almost formally declaring an end to the angry tensions that divided the two allies over the Iraq war, Mrs. Merkel pronounced the opening of a "new chapter" in the German-American relationship, and the president appeared to agree.
In her first White House visit since taking office Nov. 22, Mrs. Merkel said she had raised the question of detainee treatment at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, with the president. But she appeared to do so in a carefully nonconfrontational way, saying that Europeans critical of such treatment needed to suggest reasonable alternatives for dealing with lawless terrorists.
Mr. Bush said his first impressions of Mrs. Merkel, after 45 minutes spent huddled together with no aides present, were "incredibly positive." "She's smart," he said. "She's plenty capable. She's got kind of a spirit to her that is appealing. She loves freedom." Mr. Bush said he was touched by her personal story of having grown up in Communist East Germany. She is the first chancellor from the East, and the first woman, as well.
The two expressed no difference whatsoever on Iran; both said Tehran's recent resumption of nuclear enrichment work was "unacceptable" - Mr. Bush used the word repeatedly - but both emphasized their commitment to diplomacy.
They agreed that Iran should be referred to the United Nations Security Council, where sanctions could be imposed, but the president said he would not "prejudge" what actions it might take. Both said they were working with other countries to refine their strategy on Iran and build the broadest possible international support. "I think this is going to be absolutely crucial for the Iranians to see how serious we are about all of this," Mrs. Merkel said.
Mrs. Merkel, 51, who had vowed in her election campaign to improve trans-Atlantic ties, used language that the plain-spoken American president probably appreciated, saying that global challenges should be met "head on." The body language of the two appeared relaxed. Mrs. Merkel at times nodded her agreement as Mr. Bush spoke or smiled in her direction; the president quipped at one point that they had something in common: "We both didn't exactly landslide our way into office."
Mrs. Merkel's center-right Christian Democrat Party is united with the left-leaning Social Democratic Party in an uneasy grand coalition that emerged from a razor-thin election result last year.
Mr. Bush said he would be able to work closely with Mrs. Merkel on delicate issues including Iraq and the war on terrorism, as well as Iran.
Germany is part of the European group of three, along with Britain and France, that had worked to negotiate an acceptable outcome to Iran's nuclear ambitions - negotiations that the Europeans said this week had reached a "dead end."
Today's meeting is one of a series that Mrs. Merkel is undertaking with world leaders; she travels next to Moscow, to visit President Vladimir V. Putin. The meeting had not been expected to produce much of substance. As a get-acquainted visit, however, it appeared successful.
Mrs. Merkel has sent clear signals to Washington of a willingness to start the German-American relationship anew, even though the Iraq war and some American tactics used in pursuit of terror suspects - including the reported use of secret prisons for detainees in Eastern Europe - remain highly unpopular in Germany.
The White House appears particularly reassured by her free-market inclinations and the fact that having grown up in East Germany she appears inherently more skeptical about Russia than former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
Even in her criticisms, including her urging shortly today's visit that Guantánamo Bay detention camp should eventually be closed, Mrs. Merkel is seen in Washington as less confrontational than Mr. Schröder - plain in meaning but unaggressive in tone.
Mr. Bush, acknowledging that Mrs.. Merkel had raised the Guantánamo issue, again defended the detention camp as a necessary way to house detainees and seek information from dangerous terror suspects. "These are people picked up off a battlefield who want to do harm," he said.
But he joined the chancellor in saying, "I'd like to see a way forward there." Mr. Bush argued that military tribunals could protect detainees' rights while also protecting the American people. Mrs. Merkel then said, in accommodating tones, that she had made it "very clear that I completely share your assessment" about the terrorism threat. She suggested that Germany and other European countries "need to come up with a convincing proposal as to how we ought to deal with detainees, for example, who do not feel bound by any law" and who come from countries lacking legal structures.
Mrs. Merkel spoke in German, though she is fluent in English, and her remarks were rendered by an interpreter.
Neither leader attempted to disguise the tensions of recent years, but both underscored a determination to move ahead in areas of agreement. "We've had our disagreements on Iraq, obviously," Mr. Bush said. "It's been a difficult issue in our relationship, and I fully understand that. But in spite of disagreements, we share the desire for the Iraqi people to live in freedom."
The president thanked Germany for helping with Iraqi reconstruction, as he thanked it for its help in Afghanistan. He also said he wished only the best for Mr. Schröder.
Mrs. Merkel acknowledged that "there sometimes have been differences of opinion." But she added, "I think that at the end of the day, what counts is that we come back to a situation where we openly address all of the issues."
Mr. Bush was also asked about German news reports that Germany had kept secret intelligence agents working in Baghdad during the Iraq war. He replied that he had heard nothing of the matter before Mrs. Merkel mentioned it.
