A Meeting of the Minds

Henry Kissinger meets with Bertelsmann Foundation leadership in Berlin

Henry Kissinger (center), Bertelsmann Foundation Board Vice Chairwoman Liz Mohn (left of Dr Kissinger) and Chairman Gunter Thielen (right of Dr Kissinger) were among the participants of the foreign-policy roundtable.

The week of U.S. Independence Day brought a who's who of trans-Atlantic personalities to Berlin. The holiday marked the opening of the new American embassy in the German capital and the bestowing of the Kissinger Award on former U.S. President George H.W. Bush. Both events drew foreign-policy experts to the city.

Bertelsmann Foundation Board Chairman Gunter Thielen and Vice Chairwoman Liz Mohn used the occasion to invite a small circle of politicians and advisers to meet former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and discuss foreign-policy priorities in the post-U.S. election period.

The meeting's participants agreed that Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Russia would top the new president's agenda. They also concurred that Europeans' expectations of the new administration would have to be realistic: Washington will continue to expect the Europeans, especially the Germans, to strengthen their military involvement in the world's hot spots. This will hold true regardless of who wins the election - John McCain or Barack Obama, despite their different foreign-policy positions.

Those participating in the discussion included Eckart von Klaeden, foreign-policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, the new chairman of the Munich Conference on Security Policy, Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, vice president of the German Federal Intelligence Service, and Klaus Scharioth, German ambassador to the United States.

The meeting was preceded the evening before by a ceremony in the American Academy in Berlin to give former President Bush the Henry Kissinger Award. The award was given by the American Academy for Mr Bush's commitment to strengthening the trans-Atlantic community. Dr Kissinger attended the ceremony, as did Mrs Mohn and 200 guests from politics, business and the media.