Germany and the US ‘On the Brink of a Diplomatic War’

The German press estimates that on Friday July 11, the decision of expelling the chief of the U.S. intelligence service in Germany constituted a real schism in the relation between the two allies. The press backed Angela Merkel concerning the “arrogance” of the U.S.

The announcement of the expulsion following the arrest of two spying agents from Washington in Germany is ubiquitous in the press and has made the headlines of the major newspapers for the past few days.

“Merkel Is Not Obama’s Puppy”

“It is a schism in the history of German-American relations” highlighted the center-left daily paper of Munich, Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), which denoted “an unprecedented act of protestation against American arrogance.”

“[The ex-chancellor] Gerhard Schroder first led the way toward independence against its closest ally 12 years ago by refusing to mobilize against Iraq. Now, this is a second step,” analyzed SZ, the latter judging this second step as arriving “late.”

“Up to now, the Germans have only reacted with disillusionment and indignation to the American intelligence service’s conduct. With the eviction of the chief of the American intelligence service, the federal government has for the first time put the Americans under pressure. We hope Obama and his troops understand that they cannot do whatever they want in Germany.”

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), a financial daily newspaper, Germany and the U.S. are “on the brink of a diplomatic war.”

“Clearly, this is a waste of energy [while] Berlin and Washington are already occupied with existing conflicts in the world. A quarrel between Germany and the U.S. can only rejoice Occidental enemies.”

But like the rest of the press, the daily backs Merkel’s decision: “Merkel is not Obama’s puppy. The message she left him was as clear as it was indispensable.”

The Lowest Point in Relations Between the Two Countries

Blid, the most-read daily newspaper in Germany, devoted a big portion of its second page to the spying scandal, with a big picture of the German chancellor with the following title: “Spying scandal: Merkel takes action now!” According to the newspaper, the relations between the two countries have reached “[their] lowest point,” because of the “insults,” “attacks” and “ broken promises” of the Americans.

“The situation cannot carry on this way! Barack Obama has to fix the relationship with its closest Occidental ally while there is still time.”

The Tagesspiegel, a daily newspaper from Berlin, distances itself from the rest and estimates the eviction, as exceptional as it seems, as being part of diplomatic theatrics. “Everyone agrees that it is part of the game,” noted the newspaper in an article entitled “Eviction, According to the Book.”

“And finally, it is clear that the federal government gives the impression of having taken adequate measures. The U.S. should, meanwhile, give up on a counter-reaction (they could, for instance, drop some information concerning German industrial espionage in the U.S.), and that would be the signal that the White House has indeed understood how the German spirit has been wounded.”