Bridging the Gap
By Stryker McGuire
Newsweek International
Sept. 10, 2007 issue - Forty-four years ago, a few months before his assassination, John F. Kennedy traveled to then divided Berlin and gave a round of historic speeches. "Ich bin ein Berliner" is the line everyone remembers, the crowd's roar soaring in approval of the young president whose country would one day liberate the people on the other side of the wall. But there was another line, his last public utterance in Berlin. It came during a speech at Congress Hall, a gift from America to the people of Berlin. "Americans may be far away," he said, "but ... this is where we want to be today. When I leave tonight, I leave—and the United States stays."It didn't turn out that way. Over the decades, America floated in and out of Europe's graces. Probably Washington's darkest hour in Europe.....(click on the link to view the complete story)