Fireworks explode above Berlin's Brandenburg Gate Monday during the commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
(Gero Breloer/AP)Photos (1 of 1)
At Berlin Wall fall celebration, old allies ask where is Obama?
As leaders and revelers celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago, President Barack Obama's absence is one of several diplomatic wrinkles marring the event.
By David Francis | Dan Murphy 11.09.09
BERLIN – The celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall started off well enough – former President George H.W. Bush, ex-Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, and former West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl gathered in front of nearly 2,000 dignitaries in Berlin last week to celebrate their role in bringing about the end of the Cold War.
It was a happy affair, with Mr. Bush and Mr. Gorbachev exchanging laughs and smiles as they recalled Nov. 9, 1989, a day that all agreed advanced world freedom and ended the looming threat of the cold war.
But in the week since, as leaders have gathered here to mark the Mauerfall anniversary, agreement has been tough to come by and fractures between allies have shown themselves in what has been billed as an event to celebrate unity. One of these signs was the absence of US President Barack Obama as other heads of state gathered underneath the Brandenburg Gate Monday night to make a symbolic journey from the old East Berlin to West Berlin. They group then toppled a wall of dominoes along the path of the Berlin Wall.
But President Obama sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is his place, infuriating many Germans, as the US president is beloved here. Some in Berlin asked if this snub indicated that the alliance between the US and Germans is strained.
The events of the last week have fueled German concerns. As German Chancellor Angela Merkel was flying back from Washington after meeting with Obama and giving a speech to US Congress, General Motors, whose board was appointed by the Obama administration, canceled a deal that would have saved German automotive jobs. Ms. Merkel was stunned and angry. The White House didn’t comment.
Then Ms. Clinton, speaking last night at a dinner here, took what many perceive as a shot at Germany for failing to commit additional troops to the war effort in Afghanistan. The wall celebrations should be “should be a call to action, not just a commemoration of past actions,” she said. “’That call should spur us to continue our cooperation and look for new ways that we can meet the challenges that freedom faces now … We owe it to ourselves and to those who yearn for the same freedoms that are enjoyed and even taken for granted in Berlin today.”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has also found himself in bit of a political pickle following some claims he made about being in Berlin on Nov. 9, 1989. Soon after Mr. Sarkozy posted a picture that shows him picking at the wall with a hammer on what he claims is Nov. 9, journalists and former French officials immediately began questioning his story. This is hardly a scandal, but it drew attention away from a major diplomatic event. It also comes as Sarkozy is trying to build closer ties with Germany, despite Merkel’s resistance.
Meanwhile Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, representing the direct descendant of the defeated Soviet Union, has said and done all the right things. He praised the collapse of the wall and offered praise for Germany’s advances in the past two decades.
Of course, Mr. Medvedev has reason be happy with Germany’s progress; Berlin and Moscow rely on one another as key economic partners. Who would have thought it 20 years ago?
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2. M. Ellis | 11.09.09
Obama didn’t go because he is mourning the falling of The Wall, not celebrating it.
3. wendel | 11.09.09
How can you commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall with out even mentioning Ronald Reagan. The Obama administration and most of the press seem to have forgotten President Ronld Reagan’s speech in Berlin at the wall with the line “Mr. Gorbachov, tear down this wall”. The press and this administration are again attempting to rewrite history
5. Julie | 11.09.09
I wonder who the “some” and “many” are who were so infuriated and snubbed? I just got through reading another article that said Obama’s video message was met with cheers. Maybe he’s been busy working in the United States and Hillary Clinton was a fine representative of our country. Damned if he does and damned it he doesn’t. Some will criticize everyhign he does.
6. Loren | 11.09.09
Unfortunately the news story about Berlin neglects to point out that the memorial service in Fort Hood is on Tuesday. It would be hard for Obama to be in Berlin Germany on Monday and in Fort Hood Texas U.S.A. on Tuesday. As Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, he made the right choice to be with the troops on Tuesday in Fort Hood.
7. Donald169 | 11.09.09
Obama has plenty of time to go to Copenhagen to lobby for his friends in Chicago, and he surely won’t miss his trip to Oslo. He couldn’t find the time for a trip to commemorate something as significant as the fall of the Iron Curtain.
His priorities are troubling.
8. Ralph | 11.09.09
Bill: I don’t know anyone with any credibility who would have criticized him for celebrating the breaking down of the wall. It’s just difficult thing for a far leftist president to celebrate, don’t you think?
9. Triska | 11.09.09
Obama has time to go golfing every week and to fly to Europe to campaign for the Olympics, and will find time to fly to Europe to support the global warming world government nonsense, and probably will find time to fly there again and accept his undeserved Peace Prize. But Obama did NOT find time to visit Berlin on this historic anniversary. And will insult an ally. What a shame.
10. citizen | 11.09.09
there are some typos in this article… “they group then toppled…” “Hilary clinton is his place” “the wall celebrations should be ’should be…’” that said thanks for posting
11. Syd | 11.09.09
Obama seems to be clueless about Eastern Europe. He is busily selling them out to appease Russia, to no avail. It’s not going make Putin like us.
12. Cowboy John | 11.09.09
Folks, Obama was concerned with the shooting at Ft Hood. I think the Germans understood that. But for some of the intolate people here who sniped at him for not attending the ceremonies in Berlin, the old adage seemd to apply: he damned if he went and damned if he didn’t!
13. a3strand | 11.09.09
President Obama announced last week (before the tragic Fort Hood Massacre) that he was not going to attend the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s falling.
He did not choose to attend the memorial service at Fort Hood instead. The Commander in Chief should have flown to Texas instead of relaxing at Camp David for the weekend after the worst act of terrorism on a US Military base.
For all of you hypocrites who think poor President Obama is “damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t” should put yourselves in President Bush’s shoes. Liberals set the standard for unfair critism now they whine and complain. President Obama botched both events.
14. JFD8 | 11.09.09
Democrats want re-erected
The Wall that Berlin rejected;
For they need a redoubt
To be sure to wall out
Lieberman since he defected.
News Short n’ Sweet by JFD8
http://twitter.com/JFD8
16. Bobbie Gosnell | 11.10.09
Time to withdraw as gracefully as possible from Bush’s two wars. Wasted lives, wasted trillions and wasted support from allies who, perhaps, see the futility of changing a society from without.
17. 9corona | 11.11.09
Obama was at Ft Hood after he rescheduled his trip to southeast asia…. He had planned to be there - which meant he was missing Vetran’s day in the USA……
“President Barack Obama has postponed his trip to Japan and Asia by one day so that he can attend Tuesday morning’s memorial for the victims of the Fort Hood shooting. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and other members of the Japanese government acknowledged the reason for the late change of plans.”
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1. Bill | 11.09.09
Obama doesn’t go to Germany he is criticized and if did go he would be criticized, sad state of affairs