2-25-05

Germans Give Antichrist Cold Shoulder

A bigger problem than having Little George hated around the planet is that his mess is making Americans hated around the globe.

War Criminal comrade zioni$t Little George does not seem to realize that his invasion of Iraq has killed 100,000 Iraqi civilians, by some counts, and people of the world do not think this is the road to peace, which, of course, it is not.

Charm offensive offends the Germans
By Alec Russell in Mainz and Kate Connolly in Berlin
(Filed: 24/02/2005)

Empty autobahns, abandoned streets, shuttered windows and lines of soldiers and policemen stationed for mile after mile of his route - President George W Bush had a distinctly frosty reception yesterday on his arrival on the banks of the Rhine in the German town of Mainz.

At a lunch hosted by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Mr Bush made much of how he was literally following in the footsteps of his father, who made a memorable trip to Mainz in 1989.

But the contrast between the two visits could not have been more marked. Mr Bush's father, the first President George Bush, was hailed as a friend and statesman when he appealed for a special relationship between Germany and America. The current president suffered a hail of insults from the moment Air Force One touched down at nearby Rhein-Main military air base.

Air passengers were left fuming as the authorities bowed to the wishes of American officials and took the unprecedented step of clearing the airspace for Mr Bush's arrival and departure. Hundreds of flights at Frankfurt's main airport were delayed and dozens cancelled.

As the presidential entourage sped over the Rhine into the seemingly abandoned city in a snowfall and along streets lined by police, the imagery was reminiscent of a Cold War summit.

Much to the outrage of many locals, five autobahns had been closed, the Rhine was blocked to traffic, and most businesses were shut. Residents had been told to step on to their balconies "at their own peril" for fear that the president's security "might misunderstand the gesture and act accordingly".

But by midday the centre came back to life as demonstrators gathered to vent their anger at Mr Bush. "We don't want your type of freedom" was emblazoned on the back of one float, in a pointed reference to Mr Bush's call to spread freedom around the globe.

A survey in yesterday's conservative daily, Die Welt, showed that 70 per cent of 30- to 44-year-olds said they did not see why Germany should remain grateful for America's role in helping the country to rise from the ashes of Nazism 60 years ago.

Die Welt declared that Mr Bush's charm offensive was just not going to wash with the Germans. "While the USA tries. . . to significantly lighten up the bad mood in the transatlantic relations, the alienation of the Germans from their once most important ally and friend continues apace."

The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper handed half a page of space over to the "ghettoised" Mainzers in which they vented their spleens. From the undertaker who complained he could not pick up any bodies in the city centre because of the restrictions, to the heavily-pregnant woman who had to decamp from her home to a hotel in case she was prevented by the security measures from getting to hospital, the moaning seemed to know no end.

Mr Bush later travelled to an American army base where he had a far more enjoyable reception - thousands of soldiers cheered and roared as he addressed them.