OUTHAWKING W:

All smiles as Bush and Merkel find a new diplomacy (Alec Russell, 14/01/2006, Daily Telegraph)

[T]he meeting was warm and their stance on the Iranian crisis indivisible as Mr Bush sought to dispel his first-term image as a unilateralist by praising the art of diplomacy.

"Our job is to form a common consensus," he said when asked about the challenge of confronting Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

"This is what's called diplomacy. Diplomacy is about talking to friends, allies and others about a common objective. You're seeing the evolution of a pro-active diplomatic policy."

The president's language reflected the change in approach America has taken in his second term following the destructive transatlantic rows of the first. It also reflected the change at the top in Berlin.

Mrs Merkel's predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, was even more loathed in the White House than that arch villain, the French president, Jacques Chirac, for having played the anti-war card to ensure his re-election in late 2002.

Administration officials felt betrayed by Mr Schröder, who they said had pledged not to tap his country's deep vein of anti-Americanism for political gain.

They also saw him as opportunistic for his attempts to cosy up to Russia's President Vladimir Putin and for his push to end the EU's arms embargo against China.

In keeping with his relatively new-found diplomatic zeal, Mr Bush sent his "best regards" to his old sparring partner.

But despite disarray caused by Mrs Merkel's call in an interview with Der Spiegel for the dismantling of Guantanamo, US officials are overjoyed at the chance of a fresh start in US-German relations.

The leaders resolutely maintained a united front over the Iranian crisis as Mr Bush did his utmost to avoid sounding more hawkish than Mrs Merkel.