Letter: Germany should not attack U.S. foreign policy

To answer Pavel Molchanov's first question: I believe Germany has an obligation toward the United States, maybe not to pledge unconditional support in all areas of foreign policy, but at the very least not to viciously attack its foreign policy. Diplomacy relies on a minimum foundation of civility and even an amount of loyalty. When an act such as the invasion of the Suez Canal threatens to unleash a "World War III," then condemnation is certainly justified to oppose it. But Schroeder's purely politically-aimed diatribes were nothing more than unacceptable attempts to secure a re-election.

Schroeder has every right to disagree with President George W. Bush's foreign policy, but none to deface our government, comparing our president's tactics to those of Hitler. Also, if Germany is "one of the most pro-American countries anywhere," then it's a paradox that such a virulently anti-American man represents them. Either Germany is not as pro-American as Molchanov says, or else Schroeder is not the man who should represent it. His attack on America was nothing more than a political ploy to foist his views on the entire German population.

I am French, lived my entire life in France and have been exposed to the Parisian perspective as well as the provincial part of the country. I certainly would not say that I had noticed any "visceral anti-American sentiment." If any anti-American sentiment exists, then it's practically only found among the Parisian population, but even then, I would characterize it as just an extreme, diverging perspective on foreign policy. Many French disagree with Bush's foreign policy, but there are as many Americans who are against the Bush government.