(3 of 3)
Changing Relations. The second meeting went somewhat better. Alone except for interpreters in the living room of the Chancellor's bungalow on the grounds of Palais Schaumburg, Johnson reassured Kiesinger that the U.S. still placed higher priority on maintaining a strong NATO than on achieving a nonproliferation pact with the Soviet Union. As a result of Kiesinger's protests, Johnson agreed to withdraw fewer of the fighter-bombers than he had intended to bring home, but he stuck by the U.S. plan to reduce ground forces in Germany by 20,000 men. He also promised that Washington from now on would consult with Bonn on matters of mutual importance before the decisions were made.
After more than two hours of talks, the two men parted, and Johnson boarded Air Force One to return to Washington. He left Bonn somewhat sobered by the new independence and shifting attitudes of Western Europe. Konrad Adenauer, with his love of getting down to the cold facts, would have been pleased that his funeral brought the President face to face with the changing realities of U.S.-European relations.
-A rugby term meaning sideline.