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Germany with libya cuba { February 8 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/08/international/europe/08RUMS.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/08/international/europe/08RUMS.html
February 8, 2003
Rumsfeld Faces Tense Greeting and Antiwar Rallies in Munich
By THOM SHANKER
MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 7 — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived tonight in the heart of what he has dismissed as "old Europe," facing antiwar street rallies and a tense reception from his hosts even as he declared that debate among allies is healthy.
In advance of his speech on Saturday to an annual security conference, Mr. Rumsfeld was the object today of hostile headlines for his comments that Germany was on par with Cuba and Libya, at least when measured by support for American efforts to disarm Iraq.
These latest comments to irk Germany came during an otherwise uneventful budget hearing on Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
When asked by Rep. Robert E. Andrews, a New Jersey Democrat, to identify nations that have committed troops, offered bases, pledged overflight rights and other assistance should the United States attack Iraq, Mr. Rumsfeld ticked off a few different categories of countries and their participation. He then added: "Then there are three or four countries that have said they won't do anything. I believe Libya, Cuba and Germany are ones that have indicated they won't help in any respect."
Quizzed by reporters today, Mr. Rumsfeld tried to put his comments in context but in no way sought to soften his argument.
"There are obviously enormous differences" between Germany, a thriving democracy, and the dictatorships of Cuba and Libya, Mr. Rumsfeld said. And, responding to a reporter's question, he said with a grin that it would be "mischievous" to construe his comments as an attempt to draw a direct comparison between Fidel Castro of Cuba and Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor.
But Mr. Rumsfeld pointed out that Mr. Schröder's campaign platform included a pledge that German forces would not join an American-led attack on Iraq. By so doing, Mr. Rumsfeld said, Germans "had nominated themselves" for the list that included Cuba and Libya.
Mr. Rumsfeld, a former American ambassador to NATO, said the alliance had been roiled by internal dissent throughout its history, and he said such debate was "healthy and desirable and part of a process."
Germany cannot prevent the United States from deploying American troops stationed here to join an offensive against Iraq, under the status of forces agreement between the two nations.
Mr. Rumsfeld hinted to correspondents traveling aboard his plane that the Defense Department might review the constellation of American bases in Germany, but he stressed that this would be a natural part of a continuing study of possible realignment and closings of installations in the United States and elsewhere.
Mr. Rumsfeld is scheduled to meet with his German counterpart, Peter Struck, on Saturday, although Iraq is expected to play less of a role in their talks than military cooperation to maintain security in Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said.
During his speech, Mr. Rumsfeld is expected to repeat that time is short for disarming Iraq. Conference officials said they anticipated large protests on Saturday, including one endorsed by Christian Ude, the mayor of Munich. An estimated 3,500 police were called to duty.
"These comments of Rumsfeld should help bring more people out onto the street," Raied Naieem, a member of the antiglobalization group Attac, which is organizing the protests, told local reporters.
Mr. Rumsfeld's comments, which came just days after he angered officials in France and Germany by describing them as "old Europe," compared with new and vibrant members of NATO and the European Union who support American policy toward Iraq.
Although Italy is a historic European power, it is one that supports the American stance on Iraq. Before Munich, Mr. Rumsfeld was in Rome to meet with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Defense Minister Antonio Martino. Mr. Rumsfeld praised Italy for its "strong friendship and staunch support." Mr. Martino said the Italian government was in step with the American position on Iraq.
"It would be a terrible, terrible blow to the credibility of the United Nations" if Saddam Hussein continued defying United Nations resolutions on disarmament, he said.
Mr. Rumsfeld ended his day in Italy with a visit to an air base in Aviano for a town hall-style meeting. "You are what stands between freedom and fear," he told the troops.
While Mr. Rumsfeld was in Rome, the German foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, went to Vatican City and met with Pope John Paul II. A Vatican spokesman said the meeting gave the Vatican an opportunity to reiterate its preference for a peaceful resolution with Iraq.
At a news conference in Vatican City, Mr. Fischer said of his meeting with the pope this morning, "I'm not the spokesperson for the Holy Father," but added, "With our deep worries and our deep skepticism, we are very close." That referred to the justification and wisdom of going to war with Iraq.
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