Looking for Friends in Very Strange Places

On a European charm offensive, Bush calls on allies--wherever they may be

Peter the Great built St. Petersburg on Russia's far northwestern edge as a strategic window on Europe. On his way to this year's G-8 summit in St. Petersburg, President Bush will stop off at his own strategic window on Europe: Stralsund. If you've been to Stralsund, the question might be, Why? The town, once in East Germany, has a population of about 60,000 and is famous for a local berry drink that tastes like flat, bitter orange soda. All that matters to the President, though, is that Stralsund was once represented in the Bundestag by Angela Merkel, who unseated Gerhard Schröder...

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