German-American Relations after the Iraq War: Defining New Common Ground Is Better Than Bemoaning Old Disputes

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It has become accepted practice even among dyed-in-the-wool "Atlanticists" to depict the current dispute over policy on Iraq as the beginning of a permanent estrangement. Because we face new challenges, transatlantic relations will change. This does not, however, mean that they must deteriorate. On the contrary: If we succeed in defining common answers to changed risks in the future, the transatlantic partnership will become an even greater global stability factor than it has been in the past.

Given the highly successful track record of the German-American relationship over the past decades, I would first like to take the liberty of pointing out that German-American …