German Chancellor to Address Joint Session of Congress
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President Barack Obama thanked German Chancellor Angela Merkel Monday for her country's "sacrifice" in keeping forces in Afghanistan, noting she was being honored as the first German leader to address a joint session of Congress, the AP reported.
Merkel said she wanted to use the Oval Office session and her speech to Congress to express gratitude for American support "throughout the process leading up to German reunification," Fox News said.
"The United States, Germany and countries around the world, I think, are all beginning to recognize why it is so important that we work in common in order to stem the potential catastrophe that can result if we continue to see global warming continue unabated," Obama said.
The political pressures in Germany against the war in Afghanistan remain the same for Merkel, Annette Heuser, executive director of the Bertelsmann Foundation Washington, a nonprofit organization that focuses on trans-Atlantic cooperation, told the AP. "On Afghanistan, it will be a big challenge for her to balance the speech for both an American and a German audience."
Merkel said she would look to build support for the climate change deal, which will be under negotiation during a December meeting in Copenhagen.
"The world will be watching Copenhagen, and the fight against climate change is one of the most urgent tasks worldwide," Merkel said in a weekend video message posted on the Internet, the AP reported.
The last time a German leader addressed a single house of Congress was a speech by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1957.
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