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German Defense Minister Peter Struck, center, and members of his delegation to NAT meetings
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WARSAW,
September 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - German Defense
Minister Peter Struck said Tuesday, September 24, 2002, that he was
convinced his country would re-establish good relations with the
United States, after a row over the conduct of Germany's national
election campaign which highlighted deep disagreement over Iraq.
Speaking
on the sidelines of a two-day meeting of NATO Defense Ministers, he
said it would take some time for tempers to cool. But he immediately
offered an olive branch, proposing to jointly take command with the
Netherlands of the International Security Force in Afghanistan from
early next year, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"After
a bit of nerves, relations will now very quickly become totally normal
working relations," he said.
"Slowly
but surely, a totally normal working relationship will develop."
On
Monday, on the eve of the NATO meeting in the Polish capital, U.S.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld hit out at German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder, whose Social Democratic party's winning campaign featured
blunt opposition to U.S. military action against Iraq.
One
of Schroeder's former Ministers also caused a storm when she compared
U.S. President
George W. Bush's tactics to those of Hitler.
Struck
said he had "shaken the hand" of Rumsfeld at the beginning
of the meeting but no bilateral meeting was planned.
"I
think the U.S. government will accept that we have a new federal
government, that one has to cooperate in a good manner in the next
four years," he said.
The
U.S. rift with Germany underscored the difficulties facing Rumsfeld as
he attempted at the NATO meeting to gain greater understanding, if not
outright support, from allied governments as Washington heads into a
showdown with Iraq.
The
German government has been outright in its opposition to the idea.
However,
Struck said he hoped Washington would appreciate a proposal by Germany
to take over joint command with the Netherlands of the International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan from early next year.
"I
have proposed, in conjunction with my Dutch counterpart, that the
first German-Dutch corps take over the leading role of ISAF from
January or February", he said.
"I
believe the U.S. government will appreciate this."
A
senior U.S. defense official noted the German statement but would not
comment on whether the United States would look favorably on such an
offer.
No
other country stepped forward to lead ISAF, which has kept the peace
in Kabul while U.S. and Afghan forces fight remnants of the Taliban
and al-Qaeda in eastern Afghanistan.
Turkey,
which took over the ISAF helm from Britain in June for a six-month
period, said it is not prepared to prolong its command in Kabul when
its mandate expires on December 20.
The
senior U.S. official said there was no discussion of expanding ISAF to
other areas of Afghanistan.
Germany
deployed around 1,250 soldiers in the 4,400-strong ISAF force which
includes troops from 20 countries. A German-Dutch brigade is based in
Muenster in western Germany.
