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Obama campaigns for European support in Afghan terror fight
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-04 15:52
Then Sarkozy pledged his nation would send more police trainers and development assistance to Afghanistan. Merkel, appearing with Obama after an afternoon meeting in Baden-Baden, said without elaboration that her country wants to bear its share of the responsibility in Afghanistan, too. The attention to Afghanistan represented a pivot to the latest phase of Obama's eight-day, five-country trip, a whirlwind diplomatic debut less than three months into the president's term. The first few days of his European tour were focused on the global economic crisis, during a summit of wealthy and developing nations in London, and high-stakes meetings with leaders of such world powers as Russia and China.
Back home, some Republicans tried to dent the impact of the Obama adulation in Europe, criticizing him for making no plans to visit wounded US troops at an American military hospital just a short distance away in Landstuhl, Germany. Obama had canceled a visit to the hospital last summer during a European trip as a presidential candidate, after the Pentagon raised concerns about political activity on a military base. Though the town hall was billed as a way to escape the presidential bubble by interacting with young foreigners, "not only to speak to you but to hear from you," Obama did most of the talking - delivering a 25-minute introductory speech and giving long answers to the five questions he took afterward. But he showed himself nimble with the format, pacing the stage with a microphone and, despite a worsening cold, enlivening his lengthy, professorial answers with easy banter. In urging greater contributions from Europe, Obama attempted to both seduce and scold. He touched on some of the more important issues for Europeans in relations with the US, drawing hearty applause for several points. • He set a dramatic, long-term goal of "a world without nuclear weapons," an idea he promised to detail further in a nonproliferation speech in Prague. • He pledged to aggressively address climate change. • He promoted his decision to close the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year and declared "without equivocation that the United States does not and will not torture." In a symbolic gesture, Sarkozy announced France would accept one prisoner from the detention center for suspected terrorists. "We can't condemn the United States to have this camp and then simply wash our hands of the whole business when they close it down," Sarkozy said. Spain and Portugal have already said they could accept prisoners, while Germany and many others remain tight-lipped about whether they will accept prisoners who are not citizens of their nations. Obama acknowledged "doubt about this war in Europe," and he thanked European nations for the contributions they already have made in Afghanistan. But he said the status quo isn't enough. "Europe should not simply expect the United States to shoulder that burden alone," Obama said. Asked, at Merkel's side, if Germany should do more, he said, "We do expect that all NATO partners are going to contribute. They have thus far, but the progress in some cases has been uneven."
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