Epstein Secrets

David Ignatius June 10 -- There was some head-scratching in Washington last week at the presentation of the Medal of Freedom to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The previous foreign recipients included Pope John Paul II, who championed the freedom of Eastern Europe; Nelson Mandela, who triumphed over apart

championed the freedom of Eastern Europe; Nelson Mandela, who triumphed over apartheid in South Africa; and Helmut Kohl, who reunited Germany. Did Merkel, for all her good qualities, really fit in that group? "Why roll out the red carpet and present this honor to someone who has been a reluctant part

drawal total and end dates could change somewhat. No one, not even Obama's most intimate national-security aides—Tom Donilon, Denis McDonough, and Ben Rhodes—can be certain of their boss' final calculations, but key officials feel confident that the president's secret thinking will generally hold. Sorti

procrastination—known universally as "kicking the can down the road"—Europe has reached the moment of truth. It's binary. Either German Chancellor Angela Merkel has to bow to the logic of her predecessor but one, Helmut Kohl, who always saw monetary union as a route to federalism, or it's EFTA_R1_02204146

th. It's binary. Either German Chancellor Angela Merkel has to bow to the logic of her predecessor but o

like to leave." VII E FTA_R1_02204189 EFTA02720660 After I talked with Plouffe, I wandered down to the basement of the White House to meet with Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national-security adviser. That day, Obama was meeting with Francois Hollande, the new French President; the building was filled w

ywhere." The greater damage, in his view, was the way the leaks heightened suspicions among foreign leaders. Obama enjoyed a good relationship with Angela Merkel, but he admitted that it was undermined by reports alleging that the U.S. tapped her cell phone. This, he said, felt "like a breach of trust and I

s. Obama enjoyed a good relationship with Angela Merkel, but he admitted that it was undermined by repor

an XXL France or Germany." Obama's "long game" on foreign policy calls for traditional categories of American power and ideology to be reordered. Ben Rhodes, the deputy national-security adviser for strategic communications, told me that Washington was "trapped in very stale narratives." "In the foreig

loyed. And German leaders are wrong if they think their country will remain unscathed as its major trading partners and neighbors unravel. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has been talking a more pro- European line. But she is still insisting on growth-killing austerity as the price for European bailouts and

as the price for European bailouts and still blocking the European Central Bank from printing more euros and acting as a lender of last resort. Mrs. Merkel's advisers insist that she is doing what the German people want. That is not leadership. She needs to challenge her voters' simplistic stereotypes of

y much welcome the strong stance that Turkey has taken and believe it sends a critical message to President Assad that ... he should step down," said Ben Rhodes, Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser. In a series of statements, Davutoglu has insisted it is "no longer possible to trust the Syrian gov