Opinion: Peace the Underlying Goal

Since taking office in 1998, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has visited the Middle East -- and particularly Israel and the autonomous Palestinian areas -- more often than any other European or western politician.

The success of his visits, however, didn't correspond to their frequency: It only made it clear that European countries, as opposed to the US, are -- even with the best of intentions -- helpless and powerless when it comes to the question of solving the Mideast conflict.

It's a fact that applies more to Germany than to any other European nation. That's because Germany has been able to adopt a less "neutral" role than other countries in the region because of its history and crime against the Jews -- at least unto the point when the conflict was inexorable, as was the case before the Oslo treaty in 1993: The Palestinians demanded the scrapping of the Jewish state and Israel refused to recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the right of the Palestinians to their own state -- next to Israel's.

During those years, Germany was only active in the region within a European framework.

German diplomacy post-Oslo

Oslo however changed all that fundamentally: Both sides silently acknowledged each other and foreswore violence, creating ideal conditions for Germany to serve both sides as a reliable friend and aide -- particularly when the implementation of the Oslo agreements seemed to increasingly run into hitches.

Chancellor Schröder's coalition of Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens that found themselves in this delicate situation was however aware that German help could only be an addition to Washington's political engagement -- and even that could be useless and ineffective as long as the two warring sides didn't themselves demonstrate goodwill and take the first steps towards reconciliation.

Thus the main goal of Fischer's visits to the region was to encourage both sides to take the initiative and to urge them to take larger strides.

But the promising success of those efforts came to an abrupt halt in September 2000 when the "Al Aqsa intifada" broke out and relations between Israel and the Palestinians plumbed to depths not seen since the six-day war in 1967.

Joschka Fischer continued to try to mediate and negotiate -- but other than friendly words he didn't really achieve much on both sides. Thus Germany once again reverted to an international diplomatic line: In 2003 the EU, UN, US and Russia agreed on the so-called "road map" for the Mideast and this plan has been the declared fundament for German peace efforts in the Mideast conflict ever since.

Continue to read about Germany's stand on Iraq, Iran and the Arab peninsula.

Germans firm on Iraq

In comparison, Germany's stance on the Iraq war grabbed more attention worldwide.

Its staunch refusal to be part of the US-led war on Iraq by sending troops led to the reelection of the SPD-Green coalition in 2002. But it also led to the worst-ever souring of the transatlantic relationship. It was only with great effort that Berlin's ties to Washington could be improved and normalized again.

It remains questionable whether the German refusal to send troops to Iraq could in the mid- and long-term bring any advantages for Berlin in Iraq or in the Mideast.

Germany is participating in the training of Iraqi police as well as some measures for the Iraqi military but as long as the Germans aren't present themselves in Iraq, decisions will be taken and the future course set without any consideration for the Germans.

That's especially apparent on the economic level where German companies can sniff billion-strong contracts but can't realize them due to the overall security situation and the overwhelming American competition.

Not much headway on Iran?

On the other hand Germany has particularly good economic relations with neighboring country Iran, but this is threatened by the failure so far of the Europeans in nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

Fischer, together with his counterparts from Paris and London, initiated talks to dissuade Tehran from its plans of uranium enrichment and from taking an important step towards developing nuclear weapons. The Europeans were also concerned about demonstrating to Washington that one could achieve more with diplomacy rather than saber-rattling.

However the Europeans have emerged empty-handed and upsetting Iran could instead lead to a further strain in relations even in other fields, particularly since the election of an arch-conservative government in Tehran under the new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Economic issues top priority

Relations with the oil-rich nations of the Gulf, particularly lucrative economic issues, became top priority for the SPD-Green coalition. Chancellor Schröder even visited the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia twice within a short period.

And as is often the case with such visits, a lot was said about possible projects but very few were realized. One example was the rumor that the United Arab Emirates could be interested in building the high-tech Transrapid train.

But after the chancellor returned home, the project soon faded into memory.