In Focus
|
United States Celebrates Its 233rd Birthday July 4
 July 4th has been recognized as Independence Day in the United States ever since the country’s Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Americans celebrate with parades, fireworks, concerts and other festive activities.
america.gov
“Unbreakable bonds of friendship and trust” - President Obama welcomes Chancellor Merkel in Washington
June 26, 2009. In his welcome remarks to Chancellor Merkel, President Obama said: “We've worked closely together at the G20 summit in
London, the NATO summit, and the European Union-U.S. summit in Prague. I value
her wisdom and her candor, and I admire very much her leadership and her
pragmatic approach to getting things done.” In their meetings, President Obama and Chancellor Merkel discussed the situation in Iran, the Middle East and nuclear disarmament. “Meeting these challenges will be neither quick nor easy. But I'm reminded of a
lesson from my recent visit to Dresden. Chancellor Merkel took me to a timeless
Baroque church devastated in the Second World War. For decades it lay in ruin,
a symbol of war. But thanks to the donations of Germans and Americans and
people around the world, it was rebuilt, and its glory was restored. Today, it
stands as a stunning symbol of what's possible when countries and friends work
together.” remarks in full
• photos at www.bundeskanzlerin.de
|
News from the Embassy |
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder speaks at Transatlantic Forum
July 1, 2009. In his keynote speech at the Transatlantic Forum conference in Berlin, Ambassador Ivo H. Daalder, the United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels, underlined the importance of the transatlantic partnership in confronting global challenges. The Maleki Group and the Munich Security Conference (MSC) hosted this year’s Transatlantic Forum in close cooperation with the U.S. Embassy, the American Academy in Berlin, the Robert Bosch Foundation and the International Bankers Forum. Chargé d’Affaires John M. Koenig welcomed the more than 200 German and American leaders from government, business and academia who convened in Berlin to discuss key foreign, security and economic issues. Other U.S. speakers included Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter, the Director of Policy Planning, United States Department of State, Gary Smith, the Director of the American Academy Berlin, William Drozdiak, the President of the American Council on Germany, and Ambassador John C. Kornblum, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the conference, the Chargé hosted a reception at the Embassy. Transatlantic Forum Program
Videos: Daalder Press Conference | tagesschau, 17:00 Uhr | tagesschau, 02:10 Uhr
June 30: Anne-Marie Slaughter on Foreign Policy Priorities of the Obama Administration
Chargé d’Affaires Koenig praises German-American relations
 Juni 25, 2009. In the wake of Chancellor Merkel’s departure for Washington, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. John Koenig rejected in a live interview with Deutschlandfunk media reports which claim that President Obama’s relationship with Chancellor Merkel was tense. Koenig described such reports as “inventions of the media” and pointed out how both the President and the Chancellor had clearly stated that relations are good. Referring to the financial crisis, Koenig said the common interest and goals are more important than the differences. “The good relationship with Germany is a good condition for discussions,” he said. Koenig expressed optimism that a post-Kyoto agreement can be reached, emphasizing that it is important to be realistic and to include threshold countries. “There will be no solution without emerging countries,” he said. On Afghanistan, he expressed his condolences to the families of the three German soldiers killed near Kunduz and emphasized that “we must act together and do what the situation requires” to protect our countries against terrorist threats. Interview: Text | Audio
Louis Begley Reading: Why The Dreyfus Affair Matters
June 16, 2009. As part of the U.S. Embassy Literature Series and in cooperation with Suhrkamp Verlag, Humboldt University and The American Academy in Berlin acclaimed novelist Louis Begley read from Why The Dreyfus Affair Matters at the Humboldt University. Drawing on his legal expertise, Begley examined the Dreyfus Affair as a harbinger of the rise in France of a virulent form of anti-Semitism. Drawing parallels with recent government decisions regarding the treatment of detainees in Guantanamo, Begley underscored the interest each one of us has in the faithful execution of the law as the safeguard of civil liberties. Begley illustrated how anti-Semitism and racism function in an allegedly liberal society, in the past as much as today, with presumptions of guilt leading to criminal conviction, racial profiling replacing the search for truth and the fabrication of evidence instead of a dispassionate presentation and examination of the facts. Reading (mp3) | Discussion (mp3) | Deutschlandradio Kultur interview | 3sat interview
Trade Policy under the New U.S. Administration
 June 15, 2009. U.S.
trade specialist Susan Aaronson of George Washington University (GWU) began a
one-week speaking tour of Germany today in Berlin with a working breakfast with
journalists and a discussion with policy experts at the Stiftung Wissenschaft
und Politik. Aaronson, Associate Research Professor of International
Affairs at GWU, will visit Berlin, the Frankfurt area, Heidelberg and Nuremberg
before traveling on to Amsterdam and The Hague for a series of lectures and
discussions with specialist audiences to discuss U.S. trade policy under the
Obama Administration, prospects for a successful conclusion to the Doha Round,
and the impact of the financial crisis on global trade.
|
|
|
Check out our 
;){kind=spacer}
