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Two Years of Rocky Ties - A Chronology

February 27, 2004

Since Bush's "axis of evil" State of the Union address two years ago, relations between the U.S. and Germany have been troubled. Look up the highs and lows in DW-WORLD's timeline.

https://p.dw.com/p/4icA
All smiles in 2002 during Bush's first visit to Berlin, but a lot has happend since then.Image: AP
  • January 29, 2002: U.S. President George W. Bush gives his "axis of evil" State of the Union speech, outlining a bold new American foreign policy.
  • January 31, 2003: German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is the first western European leader to visit the White House following the controversial speech.
  • May 22, 2002: Bush makes his first official visit to Germany and gives a speech in front of the German parliament.
  • Summer 2002: While campaigning for a tough re-election bid, Schröder makes a series of statements saying Germany will not participate in a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
  • September 19, 2002: German Justice Minister Herta Däubler-Gmelin is accused of unfavourably comparing Bush to Hitler. Schröder announces she will not be taking a position in the new cabinet following federal elections.
  • September 23, 2003: Bush fails to call and congratulate Schröder on winning a second term as Chancellor.
  • September 24, 2003: At a NATO meeting in Warsaw, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is rude to his German counterpart Peter Struck, even leaving the room when the latter gave a speech. He is quoted as saying of Struck, "When you're in a hole, stop digging".
  • January 22, 2003: Rumsfeld makes his remarks differentiating between "Old Europe" and "New Europe".
  • February 6, 2004: In another Rumsfeld gem, the U.S. Defense Secretary compares the actions of Germany over the Iraq question to those of Libya and Cuba.
  • May 31, 2003: Bush and Schröder meet for the first time at the 300th birthday celebrations of St. Petersburg since tensions first surfaced.
  • September 24, 2003: Bush and Schröder meet again during a United Nations meeting in New York and declare their desire to put differences over Iraq behind them.
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Kicking off a two-day visit to the U.S., German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder sought to put differences over the Iraq war in the past. Instead he focused on imbalances in the global economy and the weak dollar. (Feb. 27, 2004)
February 27, 2004