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The World From Berlin

'The Memory of Bush Will Darken America's Image for Years to Come'

German newspaper commentators have launched a scathing attack on US President George W. Bush's record, saying he embodies "the arrogance of power" and has shattered the world's faith in America.

The diplomatic fence-mending between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President George W. Bush over the past two years seems to have done nothing to pacify German editorial writers who have seized on the US president's farewell trip to Europe to launch a tirade of criticism of his eight years in power.

The Iraq war, Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, CIA renditions and Bush's record on climate change have tainted not only Bush's image but also that of America for years to come, write Germany's leading newspapers.

The comments coincided with talks between Bush and Merkel at the German government's guest house in Meseberg, 70 kilometers north of Berlin on Wednesday, on the second leg of Bush's week-long tour of Europe which will take him on to Rome, Paris, London and Belfast.

German politicians from Merkel's ruling coalition have been similarly scathing this week in their assessment of Bush's record, throwing diplomatic caution to the wind five months ahead of the presidential election.

Left-wing Berliner Zeitung writes:

"Rarely has an American president been less popular in this country. And rarely has one embodied the arrogance of power more convincingly than Bush."

"It is unforgotten how he humiliated the United Nations, how he went to war against Iraq with a Coalition of the Willing, how his closest aides portrayed France and Germany as wimps. Bush discredited values which had brought United States worldwide respect. Many have lost faith in America because of the false reasons given for the war, the unlawful imprisonment of terror suspects in Guantanamo or the photos of Abu Ghraib."

Business daily Handelsblatt writes:

"Bush junior wasn't up to the challenge following the attacks of September 11, 2001 because he let himself be pushed into an unwarranted war by listening to the wrong advisers, and thereby prevented a broad front against terrorism. Constructive Middle East policy was made more difficult, and the regime in Iran was strengthened. Bush didn't just boycott the Kyoto Protocol, he persistently undermined it -- and thereby helped polluters such as China. With this unilateralism Bush damaged America's reputation and curtailed his room for manoeuvre."

Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"In Germany, America is no longer seen as a country of individual liberty, as a reliable ally and definitely not as a model. There are a large number of justified accusations levelled at Bush's policies. They include dangerous naivete, lies and the sustained infringement of human rights.

"Bush won't care, but in the thoughts and feeling of many Germans he is leaving behind a mixture of antipathy, ridicule, anger and skepticism towards US policies and towards America in general. Differentiating between the two has become more difficult with every year of his presidency.

"The memory of Bush will darken America's image in the world for years to come."

Conservative Die Welt writes:

"George W. Bush and his government made mistakes. The biggest was to think that democracy could be exported with a guarantee of success. But those who see George W. Bush as having stepped outside the boundaries of Western constitutional values ignore two things: Firstly, the United States really was attacked on September 11, 2001, not Germany or France. The US has good reasons to respond decisively to that. And secondly, it's not as though much-praised multilateralism would have made the world a much safer place. Often it was merely an excuse for staying out of trouble and quietly relying on the US to be there when things got serious.

"It's not just George W. Bush who's unwelcome. Ever since Reagan's Berlin visit in 1987, American presidents haven't been especially welcome whenever they embodied the uncomfortable aspect of the Atlantic alliance, which many regard as a burden that should be discarded soon. But the Bush critics are overlooking one thing: Whether Obama or McCain, the coming president of the US will be a difficult partner."

-- David Crossland, 1:30 p.m. CET