P 121606Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3014
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS BERLIN 000034 
 
 
STATE FOR EUR/CE/HODGES, PIERANGELO, LUNA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AFSN GM MNUC NATO PGOV PREL IZ IR
SUBJECT: STEINMEIER'S OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  A two-page open letter from German Foreign 
Minister Steinmeier to President-elect Barack Obama was 
published over the weekend of January 10-11 in Der Spiegel 
magazine. Steinmeier wrote that an incoming American 
president has never stimulated "so much hope and confidence," 
and he welcomed Obama,s stated willingness to work closely 
with allies to shape a common future.  In the letter, 
Steinmeier broached a number of foreign policy issues that he 
hopes to work on in coordination with the incoming 
administration, including Guantanamo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and 
Russia. (See para. 5 for full translation).  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) In the open letter, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter 
Steinmeier welcomes Obama,s pledge to close Guantanamo and 
says that the new Administration should not be "left in a 
lurch" by the international community and Europe in dealing 
with the inmates.  He encourages Obama to stick to his pledge 
to engage Iran in direct dialogue, arguing that doing so is 
"neither a weakness nor a concession."  On Iraq, he announces 
that Germany, notwithstanding its opposition to the war, is 
ready to increase its assistance in rebuilding the country, 
especially in the health care and education sectors.  He 
notes that he will soon visit Iraq to, among other things, 
review possible projects. 
 
¶3. (U) On Afghanistan, Steinmeier notes that Germany has 
increased its engagement, but emphasizes the need to 
"gradually" transfer responsibility to the Afghans for taking 
care of their own security.  In resolving conflicts in 
Afghanistan and elsewhere, Steinmeier plays down the role of 
military force:  "I am convinced that the strongest military 
battalions alone cannot defeat terror and hatred.  Peace is 
only possible when we convince people of a better alternative 
to hostility and violence." 
 
¶4. (U) On Russia, Steinmeier urges taking President Medvedev 
"at his word" that he is committed to modernizing Russia and 
pursuing a partnership with the West.  He also encourages the 
new Administration to be open to discussing Medvedev,s 
proposal for a new European security architecture. 
Steinmeier calls for a new Harmel report on the future 
orientation of NATO, saying that an "honest discussion" of 
NATO enlargement policy has been put off for "too long."  On 
CFE, he argues that the treaty must be "urgently reformed and 
preserved." He pushes for Russia and the U.S. to make further 
progress on nuclear arms reductions in order to be able to 
prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.  Finally, he 
strongly supports the enlargement of the G8, arguing that 
today,s global problems (as exemplified by the financial 
crisis) could only be solved by integrating the new rising 
powers in the coordination group. 
 
¶5. (U) Below is the complete translation of the open letter: 
 
Spiegel, January 12, 2009 
 
"Standing Shoulder to Shoulder" 
Open letter from Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier to 
Barack Obama 
 
Dear Barack Obama, 
 
Last year in July, hundreds of thousands of people gathered 
at Victory Column in Berlin to hear your vision of a better 
America and a more peaceful world.  Your words fascinated 
millions of people watching on TV.  You reawakened the 
American Dream, for which countless people all over the world 
have been admiring your country for more than 200 years.  For 
a society that has the power to change.  That is open to new 
ideas. And that gives brave people the space to take their 
lives into their own hands. 
 
In a few days, you will be the 44th U.S. President.  I am now 
53 years old, and never in my active memory has the 
inauguration of an American president sparked so much hope 
and optimism.  The expectations of you are almost beyond any 
human dimension.  And the challenges that will confront you 
from Day One are enormous: a financial system that is still 
shaky, an economy on its way into recession, a world that 
feels insecure, a world that is changing. 
 
An impossible task?  In any case, one that demands courage, 
circumspection, and steadfastness.  And certainly a new way 
of thinking that questions outdated ideas and searches out 
new ways. 
 
Your campaign was exciting.  You filled the people in the 
U.S. and far beyond with enthusiasm for venturing into a new 
future.  You are planning to act in partnership and to dare 
new things.  That is why what we see most in the beginning of 
your presidency are opportunities.  Especially now. And also 
for us. 
 
The challenges that we face are enormous:  creating a 
transparent and reliable architecture for the world financial 
system. Combating the economic crisis.  Reforming global 
institutions.  Building new trust between East and West. 
Building bridges between cultures and religions that know 
little about each other. Peace and new prospects where, 
today, crises dominate.  Efficient measures against climate 
change. Global disarmament instead of the proliferation of 
more and more dangerous weapons.  All this can only be 
achieved together.  No country in the world, and be it the 
most powerful one, can solve even one of these problems on 
its own. 
 
"Together" -- that means: the United States and Europe 
standing shoulder to shoulder.  During the Cold War, West 
Germans benefited from America's commitment to freedom and 
democracy.  Together, we enthusiastically celebrated the fall 
of the Wall.  After that, it was too often daily routine that 
dominated our relations.  Sometimes in the past years, I was 
worried that our ties could develop rifts.  But we must not 
become indifferent to each other, especially now.  In a world 
that has become more confusing, we need a new intensity in 
our cooperation.  Together, we can also shape the world of 
the 21st century -- if we start out courageously; if we place 
the central issues of humanity at the center; and if, 
together, we find answers to the questions of the future. 
Let us write a new "transatlantic agenda" and fill it with 
life. 
 
¶A. Working Together for Stability in the Conflict Regions 
 
Finding partners, doing away with a "them versus us" 
mentality -- nothing is more important in a world in which 
radical forces still abuse religious and cultural differences 
to fuel hatred. Of course, nobody can tolerate the fact that 
extremists threaten the foundations of our society with 
violence and terror. Every nation has the responsibility to 
defend its values, the security and safety of its citizens. 
But no fight, even a fight against terror, should be allowed 
to erode our own achievements of civilization, to compromise 
democracy or the rule of law. That is why I am pleased that 
you are planning to close Guantnamo. One of the most 
difficult questions with regard to this is what will happen 
to the detainees there. If America approaches others, I 
recommend that the international community of states and 
Europe not abandon the new Administration in this task. 
 
I am convinced: Nobody can defeat terror and hate with the 
strongest military battalions alone. Peace will only be 
possible if we can convince people of a better alternative to 
hostility and violence.  If we succeed in winning their 
hearts and minds. If we help make economic development and 
prospects for their lives possible to guide people out of 
poverty. And if we engage in dialog, even and especially 
where it is difficult. 
 
Because economic and political weights in the world are 
shifting, we can take our Western values less and less for 
granted. Rather, we need to advocate them, we need to build 
bridges. We need to generate mutual understanding.  A policy 
of isolation, a policy that draws dividing lines -- that is, 
in the end, a policy of weakness.  Those who act in this way 
show that they are not as sure of their values as they say. 
I firmly believe that our common values are strong enough to 
be convincing in a dialogue. 
 
Especially in the broader Middle East.  Recent events in Gaza 
show how quickly the small steps of progress on the way to 
peace are endangered yet again.  There is no doubt: the 
Middle East issue should be at the top of your 
administration's priorities.  We will offer close cooperation 
on this.  Because more than ever it is true: only dialogue 
and cooperation, not suicide attacks and Qassam missiles will 
lead to enduring peace.  New trust and stability in the 
Middle East can only grow in a system that includes all 
important players in the region. 
 
This can have its limitations, as we can see in Iran.  Of 
course, dialogue only makes sense if the interlocutor also 
wants to see a result.  Cooperation will be impossible 
without the willingness to comply with internationally 
respected rules.  That is why the international community has 
very concrete and non-negotiable commitments it expects from 
Tehran: no support for terror and violence in the region, no 
development of nuclear weapons.  But still: to offer to enter 
into dialogue with Iran is neither a show of weakness nor a 
concession.  It is sensible.  That is why I would like to 
encourage you and your team to pursue this path as you 
announced. 
 
Stability in this region will also be decided in Iraq.  It 
was for good reason that you were against the war six years 
ago, just as I was.  Today we have to look ahead together and 
help the people in Iraq build up a stable and democratic 
state.  My country will increase its contribution, especially 
in the areas of health care and education.  I will shortly 
travel to Iraq to see exactly where and how we can do that. 
 
Together with you, we are also fighting for a future for 
Afghanistan. You have announced more troops, but also more 
engagement for reconstruction.  We are also committed to a 
comprehensive approach to building peace.  We must gradually 
help the Afghans to get to the point where they can guarantee 
security in their country on their own. That is why we have 
again stepped up our (military) support.  But building roads, 
schools and water pipes is just as important.  This, too, is 
our shared priority. 
 
¶B. For A Common Security in East and West 
 
Twenty years of great plans for a pan-European order of peace 
and for a common security zone circling the Northern 
hemisphere, from Vancouver to Vladivostok, followed the end 
of the Cold War.   But, unfortunately, we have far from 
having achieved this objective.  It is not only the thought 
patterns of the Cold War that continue to prevail in the 
shadows of the past.  The thoughts of this era also seem to 
be rooted in some minds.  Distrust is dominant instead of 
trust and (a commitment to) common action for the future. 
 
Dear Barack Obama, you are a member of a new generation.  You 
were 28 years old when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and you 
have been shaped less by the categories of the Cold War than 
your predecessors.  Quite the contrary: you said in your 
speech in Berlin that those categories would need to be 
overcome and that we should work to build a partnership that 
comprises the entire continent -- including Russia. 
 
Let us take Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at his word. 
He, too, is a member of a new generation; he is four years 
younger than you are.  He has also made proposals.  Let us 
talk about what a renewed security architecture could look 
like.  Let us think about new structures for the new global 
era without expecting to reach results immediately.  And 
without calling into question the stable foundation of our 
security in the past decades: we will also need NATO in the 
future.  But we have for too long postponed honest 
discussions about responsibilities and instead focused on 
enlargement and enlargement issues.  Today, we need a new 
basic understanding regarding the alliance,s future 
alignment -- something like a new "Harmel Report" with which 
NATO gave itself a new orientation 40 years ago in a critical 
phase. 
 
As a first concrete step, we must regain lost trust, for 
example through joint disarmament initiatives.  The CFE 
Treaty on the reduction of conventional weapons urgently has 
to be reformed and preserved.  We also need movement on 
nuclear disarmament, on the Russian as well as the American 
side.  Only when Russia and the U.S. lead the way will we be 
in a position to effectively fight the uncontrolled 
proliferation of nuclear weapons.  My impression is that you 
are thinking in this direction in a very focused way.  Please 
know that we will also be a partner on this issue. 
 
¶C. For a Global Partnership in Responsibility 
 
We live in times in which the distribution of global power is 
shifting.  New powers in Asia, Africa and Latin America are 
striving to enter the world stage.  They will reduce the 
relative weight of the U.S. and the West.  The world of the 
future will have many voices.  It has to be our task to see 
to it that the result will not be a Babylonic babble. 
 
We will only solve the central problems of humanity if we are 
able to let new powers take on global responsibilities, by 
reliably integrating them into a new order.  Only if they are 
represented at the table as equals will they be willing to 
accept global rules. 
 
The financial summit in Washington was a new beginning in 
that regard. The most important "old" and "new" powers worked 
together to develop the framework of a new global financial 
order. 
 
I am committed to us further pursuing this path -- far beyond 
financial questions.  We must be smart in enlarging the group 
of the eight most important industrialized nations and 
integrating new emerging powers into a new community of 
responsibility. 
 
The global era requires new thinking. Every person, every 
nation bears responsibility. Not just locally and nationally 
 
-- but also for the world we all share.  For example in 
climate protection.  Let us take your country.  Only if the 
United States is actively involved will the negotiations for 
a new climate protection agreement after 2012 be successful. 
That is why we are placing great hope and expectations in the 
change of direction in energy and climate policy that you 
have announced for your country: to move away from oil toward 
renewable energies and more energy efficiency.  I think the 
time has come for a close energy and climate partnership 
across the Atlantic. Politically, but also through developing 
new technologies together.  In climate protection, too, we 
can achieve the most progress when we work together. 
 
¶D. "Change has come to America" 
 
Who does not recall your moving victory speech on the night 
of your election victory? Like no other person, you stand for 
change and a new beginning in your country.  For social and 
environmental modernization.  For more opportunities through 
education.  For a more just health system.  For a society 
that leaves no one behind.  For determined action in a time 
of crisis.  For this reason, many people in the whole world 
feel close to you, also here in Germany. 
 
"And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores... 
our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared..."  on 
Election Night, this was a message not just to America, but 
to the entire world: let us work together to shape our common 
future. 
 
A message that we were happy to hear!  We are looking forward 
to cooperating with you and your Secretary of State. 
Welcome, President Obama! 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Frank-Walter Steinmeier 
 
 
END TEXT 
 
 
Koenig