"I am sorry to say that the Rosenthal piece is grossly unfair to almost everyone and everything mentioned - to President Obama, to the non-proliferation treaty (NPT), to various German politicians including former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, to the vision of a nuclear-free world as promoted by Henry Kissinger and his "Gang of Four", to German foreign policies on Iran, disarmament, and non-proliferation, as well as to veteran German television anchorman Claus Kleber. 

First, the myth of Germany opposing sanctions against Iran is just that - a myth, not based on fact but on fiction, and fiction does not become fact by repetition. Germany has as solid a track record as any of the partners in the collective effort to engage Iran on the nuclear issue. And in case this has been forgotten: Germany has been involved in this effort from the very beginning, long before the US was willing to join, and Germany has successfully lobbied more reluctant players, like Russia, to participate in UN Security Council sanctions decisions. Chancellor Merkel and her cabinet are on record for stating very clearly, and repeatedly, that Iran must not be allowed to develop a military nuclear capacity. Germany is no less determined regarding this matter than the US, or the other partners in the 3 + 3 format. It is a caricature to speak of German "recalcitrance" in this regard.

Second, accusing former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt of a "resentment-laden" view of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty is not only unfair, it is historically and factually simply and totally wrong. John Rosenthal may not be aware that it was Helmut Schmidt who, in 1978, took the initiative to promote a US and Nato military response to the growing Soviet medium-range nuclear threat. He was thus the father of the so-called "double track decision" of 1979 which led to the US plan to deploy nuclear armed Pershing 2 missiles and cruise missiles in Europe. On the NPT, Schmidt makes a point well worth repeating: the NPT is essentially a deal between the nuclear powers and the non-nuclear powers: the non-nuclear powers promise not to develop or possess nuclear weapons, and the nuclear powers promise to start disarmament efforts. With the exception of just a few countries, the roughly 200 non-nuclear countries have kept their promise. Have the nuclear countries kept theirs? John Rosenthal may wish to attend the 2010 NPT Review Conference - and he would then understand better that the NPT regime is at great risk,  because a growing and increasingly angry group of non-nuclear countries question the legitimacy of a treaty the provisions of which they believe are being respected only by them - and not by the nuclear powers. That is why Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, Bill Perry, and Sam Nunn are right, that is why groups such as "Global Zero" are so important: if the nuclear powers do not start a meaningful effort towards nuclear reductions and disarmament, the entire NPT regime might unravel. That is a real and serious threat to international peace and security.

And finally, accusing one of Germany's finest and most trusted TV anchormen, Claus Kleber, of anti-American bias must be a joke. Claus Kleber has worked and lived as a TV correspondent in Washington during my tour as German Ambassador, he has written a solidly pro-transatlantic book about America, and he is a true friend of your country. His film "The Bomb" is a powerful and important contribution to the current debate about nuclear weapons, the Iranian threat, and the question of disarmament, and it is most certainly not  anti-American. The United States has, after years of stalemate, started new rounds of arms control negotiations in 2009 - Mr. Kleber and many others applaud this US effort. Why so baleful, Mr. Rosenthal?

For quite a while, Germany was accused in the US of not being a good enough ally of President Bush in the matter of Iraq. Today, Germans are overwhelmingly supportive of the current President of the United States, including his vision of a nuclear-free world. Is it wrong for Germans to support the President of the United States? This President? Mr.Rosenthal cannot really mean that - or does he? 

Sincerely, 

Wolfgang Ischinger 

Ambassador of Germany to the United States, 2001- 2006"