Hey, maybe Angela won't just be Bush's poodle a la Tony Blair. From
Deutsche Welle:
Just days before she is due to visit the United States for the first time since becoming German chancellor, Angela Merkel has come out with heavy criticism of US tactics in the fight against terrorism, specifically calling for the US to close its Guantanamo Bay prison camp and find other ways of dealing with terror suspects.
Merkel, in an interview the weekly magazine Der Spiegel published on Saturday, said: "An institution like Guantanamo can and should not exist in the longer term. Different ways and means must be found for dealing with these prisoners."
The tone of her comments shows that while she has maintained that repairing the damaged transatlantic relationship is a priority of her foreign affairs agenda, the chancellor will not be shying away from speaking out on issues where disagreement exists.
The Bush administration was desperate to see the end of Gerhard Schroeder. Now it appears their new partner will not be a compliant as they had hoped. Go Angie!