Merkel Seeks Better U.S. Ties; Guantanamo Clouds Trip

Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- New German Chancellor Angela Merkel may face a balancing act between the better U.S. ties she wants and her nation's skepticism toward President George W. Bush's policies in Iraq.

Merkel, who holds her first meeting with Bush in Washington today, last week called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba. In her first comments on arrival last night, she stressed Europe and the U.S. are united in their condemnation of Iran's nuclear policy.

``She's saying: `I will be a friend to you but I will not be an uncritical friend,'' Constanze Stelzenmueller, director of the German Marshall Fund's Berlin branch, said in a telephone interview.

Bilateral relations have recovered since reaching a post- World War II low under Merkel's predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, who refused to back Bush's decision to go to war against Iraq in 2003. Still, German public opinion remains critical of the U.S. administration. Sixty-eight percent of 1,000 people polled by market researcher Emnid on Jan. 5 and 6 said they mistrust Bush's policies.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aLu9xk_z72h8&refer=top_world_news

Merkel needs to push away her fears and tell Bush like it is. "Close Gitmo". She shouldn't have to worry about retaliation.

Bush doesn't have any friends left. The only "friends" he has are butt=kissing leaders. And people who are afraid.

We don't have any money left to bribe people. Not much to offer in terms of a carrot except oil. Iraqi oil. But even that's going down the toilet.

Bush always turns on his friends, anyway. He treats them like dirt. Look at Italy. I always think of those photos of Bush and Laura welcoming little Danny De Vito to their ranch, about 4 years ago. There was so much hugging! Smiling for the cameras! Ribs at the house later. We desperately needed some allies in the Iraq war, so Danny was a big heist.

Not 2 years later, look at how we treated Italy. Heed the warning, Angela.