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Germany’s Uncertain Power pp 122–136Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Parting Ways: The German-American Relationship after Iraq

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Part of the New Perspective in German Studies book series (NPG)

Abstract

The US–German relationship was an especially close one during the Cold War, culminating in President George H.W. Bush’s call in 1989 for Germany to join America as a partner in leadership. The rapid deterioration that occurred because of differences over the Iraq war has lead many on both sides of the Atlantic to attribute the conflict to the leaders involved. Both the German leadership and the public believe that George W. Bush and his group of radicals are to blame for this friction and that, once he is gone, things will return to some semblance of normalcy. On the American side, there is also a sense that a change in leadership will heal the wounds. Many conservatives share the view of two of the most vocal American neoconservatives, Richard Perle and David Frum, who wrote, “We are optimistic that once Chancellor Schröder leaves the scene, Germany will revert to its accustomed friendliness.”1 During the 2004 presidential campaign, Democrats argued that a John Kerry administration would have facilitated the return to a more allianceoriented foreign policy and a rapprochement with Germany.

Keywords

  • Foreign Policy
  • Foreign Affair
  • Bush Administration
  • Military Power
  • European Security

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Notes

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Authors
  1. Stephen F. Szabo
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Foreign Policy and International Relations, University of Trier, Germany

    Hanns W. Maull

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© 2006 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Szabo, S.F. (2006). Parting Ways: The German-American Relationship after Iraq. In: Maull, H.W. (eds) Germany’s Uncertain Power. New Perspective in German Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230504189_9

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