(New York Times) - William Safire Germany's new opposition leader, the Thatcheresque Angela Merkel, said of the anti-Saddam op-ed statement signed by leaders of 8 European nations: "if we had been in government, Germany would have signed that letter." The German government is due for yet another surprise: the new NATO supreme commander, U.S. Marine Gen. James Jones, revealed at a briefing in Brussels Friday a developing U.S. strategy. It holds that the 70,000 U.S. troops garrisoned in Germany, accompanied by their 70,000 dependents, make up too many forces with too outdated a mission stationed too far from potential trouble at too high a cost.
2003-02-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive