A friend in LA asked me to tell her what was up in Germany at the moment. This is what I wrote: To begin with, I haven't seen so many American flags since the Bicentennial, and Berlin rarely identifies with anything but itself. It's a given that European liberal intellectuals unquestioningly oppose U.S. foreign policy. Taking that into account, my girlfriend Thursday said she was shocked at her own feelings. "I've never supported the U.S. in anything and suddenly I find myself giving them unflinching support for whatever they do." This sounds a bit negative but truly wasn't. Everyone here is shocked. Chancellor Schroeder the other day in front of parliament (stealing comments, I think) said, today, we are all Americans. And it's something I see. Every street into the American embassy (now you can only get within a block) is covered with candles and flowers. The tabloids, which here are the paper of choice, printed center spreads with American flags. Friday, there was a demonstration to show "solidarity" with Americans. I'm guessing there were 50,000 people for a not especially well publicized event. Solidarity is pretty much the most flattering gesture a socialist Germany can make. Chancellor Schroeder, President Johannes Rau (effectively the vice president) and U.S. ambassador Dan Coats were all there with the rote singing of Amazing Grace. There, too, I've never seen so many U.S. flags. The government is already talking about military support. This is the left-wing socialist government, mind you, of a country that can't be any more pacifistic. Go into a bar here looking for a fight and you're likely to get your cab home paid, not a bloody nose. Parliament barely approved troops for Macedonia. The minority conservative CDU is asking for funding for whatever comes. The only thing the Germans are afraid of is all-out war. WW III. They're afraid we'll react with emotion rather than reason and not be so mindful of the true world situation. They also want all the information on who did what before we act. It's easy to be rational in Germany, we're thousands of miles from NYC. But nobody here wants another world war, for obvious reasons. Here's a pic from the Friday rally, I went with my buddy Benninghoff from Berliner Morgenpost (notice the flags on the Reichstag are at half mast):