Cowboy Diplomacy

From the BBC today:

Bush in Germany on 'final tour'

Mr Bush was greeted by Mrs Merkel as he arrived in Germany

US President George W Bush is in Germany on the latest leg of what is likely to be his last tour of Europe.

His talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel are expected to focus on Afghanistan, Iran and the Middle East peace process.

Earlier, Mr Bush attended a summit with EU leaders in Slovenia where they threatened Iran with further sanctions unless it suspended nuclear enrichment.

He said an Iran with a nuclear weapon would be "incredibly dangerous" to world peace.

Mr Bush will later travel to Italy, France and the UK on what is being seen as an eight-day farewell tour of Europe.

During the trip, Mr Bush has held out the prospect of a global deal on combating climate change, which he said could be achieved by the end of his term in office in January.

US President George W Bush issues Iran warning

The US president and his European hosts ended the summit by admiring a show of Slovenia's dancing Lipizzaner horses — a fitting image the BBC's Oana Lungescu at the summit said — as it suggests the days of cowboy diplomacy are over and, after the strains of the Iraq war, Europe and the US seem back in step again.

Whatever divides the US and Europe, our correspondent adds, they remain the world's inevitable partners, united not just by history and values, but also daily trade worth $3bn.

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Don't tell anybody this, but I secretly relish how much Europeans dislike the U.S. Because no matter how much we disgust them with our fast food and our SUVs and our Wal-Marts, in the end they always have to grit their teeth and smile because we're stuck together, and they know it.

And I think that's kind of funny.

President Bush accepts a barrel of herring as Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel grits her teeth and smiles.

JEM