200,000 gather to hear Obama's speech in Germany

Berlin: Senator Barack Obama on Thursday addressed around 200,000 people in Berlin and issued a call for cooperation, imploring America and Europe to bridge differences and rekindle old alliances in an effort to restore global stability and better confront existing and unforeseen threats.

“If we're honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart and forgotten our shared destiny,'' Obama said.

“In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe's role in our security and our future.''

The Illinois Democrat added: “Both views miss the truth.''

Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who is on a weeklong international tour, delivered his address at the base of the Victory Column in the Tiergarten, a sprawling park in the center of the city.

Obama, as he visits the Middle East and Western Europe, is eager to prove himself on a worldwide stage as a potential leader of the United States, whose image has become tarnished in Europe, largely because of its decision to go to war with Iraq.

He seemed intent on trying to achieve two goals - healing the wounds left by the Bush administration, which dismissed the “old Europe,'' and present an image to voters at home as a president whom the world could embrace.

“No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone,'' Obama said. “None of us can deny these threats, or escape esponsibility in meeting them.''

Linking the battle against terrorism to the struggle of the cold war that defined this city for decades, Obama spoke directly on the need for more soldiers to fight in Afghanistan, a politically unpopular stance in Germany.

“The Afghan people need our troops and your troops, our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and Al Qaida,'' Obama said.

Obama was warmly embraced by the German press, which frequently referred to his aura, or as the newspaper Bild put it in Thursday's paper, the “political pop star.''

Obama drew wide applause for his calls to end to the Iraq war and to halt the spread of nuclear weapons – and when he mentioned Washington's failures in recent years.

“I know my country has not perfected itself,'' Obama said to wide applause. “At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people.''