you understand or actually on your take when it comes to the climate. well, i understood the issue. i just didn't want to have a global treaty that didn't include china and india. otherwise is a waste of time. now i, she was, i remember when i came was schroeder was a chancellor and they, i went to the boon in stock and sat down with all the leaders there. and the green party guy was, you know, this, giving me lecture on that. and i said, fine, why don't you support me on civilian nuclear power is clean and so renewable. i mean, it's the best thing you can do for the environment. after all, your neighbor in france just figure out a way to get rid of this waste and all of a sudden conversation with quiet. and you know, there's a lot of competing interest in a lot of different views. but no question. was very strong on the environment and i don't blame or the other thing she was strong on though at the same time the world seem to be focused on, on the environment when people were dying of age on the kinds of africa. and of

course, i was concerned about having a agreement that work on, on climate, but i was also deeply concerned about rich people standing by as people are needlessly dying. and as you may know, we put together a giant initiative during my administration and i was very supportive. and as a result, millions of labor would have died and and anyway, it's shedding. priorities are important, but solving problems are very important to some people criticize her over her politics with china, saying that like the trade with, with this country is more important for her than human rights. i don't know, i am following that closely, but that's gonna be a dilemma for everybody. and and china is certainly a problem for the western world because not only are they becoming an industrial

competitor, but they are pretty autocratic and you know, they gotta go, declared himself almost leader for life. and it's just a different set of pressures on the chinese leadership and the world has to figure out how they're going to deal with human rights abuses. when people study my presidency, they say george bush cared about human rights abuses. every time i go to china, i'd talk about religious freedom and i did show in a way as not to embarrass a chinese leaders or anger them or create phone met disorder. but i told them all the time i said look, it matter to me out my life i and i think you'll find a society with religious people is going to be a society that's more compassionate and they want to hear from la metro's relationship with let me put it is somewhat special. sometimes it's really close. sometimes it's more confrontational. how do you see her relationship,

or how did you see it when you were in office? well, 1st of all, i fully understood the importance of russia to germany can become more important as germany relies upon russia, natural gas to power her big industrial economy, which i thought was a mistake. but you know, i didn't, i didn't view it as a demonstration of our relationship because she had to deal with a rep, glamour, boone, i mean, ivy, it is very practical. i mean, food got big influence and he speaks german and, and i want, you know, he's wiley and it can be pretty tough and, but so can i go so i wasn't worried about putting, running over at merkle like she, she, you know, her own. and i'm sure she did we're talking about food in talking about russia. we have to talk about north room 2. i had disappointed that america kept promoting

supporting this pipeline. yeah, i think it's a mistake and i told her to get her schroeder, i've told on the la, you know, i think it's a mistake because, you know, the motivation of russia are, are, can be pretty confusing. and i think of more that a nation that is not an open democracy, has an economic strangle hold on a democracy. it puts people in a, in a very difficult strategic position. and so one of my, i just never understood why this dismantling of the civilian nuclear power. my both chancellor schroeder in and algo, and it just didn't make any sense to me and, but that's a decision they made. and i guess the country's comfortable with it. as a germany under michael, who supported by the way, i'm sure all of us know that the intervention in iraq and 2 or 3 did not support

the bonding and libya or any further intervention in syria. what was that approach? a mistake in your eyes? now? i don't know, i, you know, i wasn't involved. i was very pleased. she was supportive of troops in afghanistan. and by the way, and one of the reasons why is because she saw the progress that could be made for young girls and women in afghanistan is unbelievable. that society changed from the brutality of the taliban and all of a sudden, sadly, i'm afraid i have gained women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm. is it a mistake? so withdrawn? i think it is. yeah, i think because i think the consequences are going to be unbelievably bad. and i'm sad and i spent a lot and i spent a lot of time with afghan women and, and they're scared. and i think about all the interpreters and people that help not

only us troops, nato troops, and they're just, it seems like there's, you can be left behind to be slaughtered by the very brutal people and it breaks my heart. and i'm sure uncle of him, doctor about it, but i suspect she feels the same way after all. she was a little girl who grew up in a pretty close society. and now i remember going to her hometown and talking to her about her childhood and it was a it's just so amazing to me to be talking to a young, a woman who as a young girl was trapped in a closed society. and in here she becomes the chancellor of a democratic free country. people say, germany's approach to military invention is not really honest. it's like a little bit on the one hand. and on the other hand, let's get the americans do the dirty work and we drove and stay out of it. what's

your take on that? yeah, you know, it's interesting. i mean there was a universal outcry in germany. it seemed like to me, even amongst conservative legislators about some of my decisions after 911 and, and it was really a reaction seemed to me to any military involvement because of previous war. and, and i came to understand that there's a psyche in every country and, and i understood the psyche in it because it didn't mean we couldn't be close friends. and so it didn't bother me that germany sent police trainers, we sent shooters, they sent police trainers, but it was a reflection of how the german people felt at the time. and that's how democracy works. should an america have known better in that regard that she comes from the

place where she comes from so that sometimes military action is needed? no, i don't know. you know, that's just everybody have to examine their unconscious. but again, people who are elected in democracy tend to reflect the, the culture of the attitudes, the history, the tradition of the country. and i just said that both she and her schroeder reflected that and so you see the key thing is the termination of alliance versus difference of opinion. and i always kept in mind the importance of us, german relations for our own country, for my own country's sake and. and therefore when they were disagreements, i refused to let that disagreement or personal slice, if there were any interrupt the, the, the larger goal. and the best thing for the united states is to be close with germany. and i think it's the best thing for germany to be close to united states.

certainly. so after donald trump ends was off is america was called the leader of the free world. what do you make of that? and is there such thing as a leader of the free world? i think i think there are influencers people have got influence to rally nations who share basic values. free press, free religion, the right to protest. and a country like the united states and germany has got a little extra oomph. and those relationships and those collectives of nations that share the same values because of the size of our economies and the size of our populations. did you navigate well? i think so. i mean, i think so to the point where, i mean there was a lot on her agenda and she got reelected

a lot which i think speaks volumes about her successes. and but you know what's interesting and how history works. both she and i mean to worry about short term history because we're not going to know where we stand until long after we're dead. if you would read the history books, what would be your paragraph about america on merkel brought clash and dignity to a very important position and made very hard decisions and did so though with what's best for germany and did so based upon principal. and the principal one but focused on her the principal was larger principles that are important in life. and i think it was a compassionate leader, a woman who is not afraid to lead. there is one image, the world remembers of you and i'm going to america. that's,

that's at the g. a meeting in san petersburg when you were massaging her shoulder. and i walk by again where yeah, i wouldn't call it an extended massage. i'd call it a. yeah, i mean, she was here, it's kind of a spontaneous reflection of friendship. and i'm sure people know what to make of it. i didn't mind those kind of i thought it was a wow. and it can. i don't know. yeah, i mean one of those things that just happened. it certainly was scripted. did you ever talk with her about it? no, no, but if i need to go, i'm sorry, i did that. but in the public spotlight, but on the other hand, is a reflection of my my friendship with you. thank you so very much and happy to do the

the me into the conflict with sebastian after 20 years fighting taliban and failing to defeat the nato forces. i'm pulling out of afghanistan. my guess this week is joe, i'm a deputy secretary general of nato, who joins me this week from the alliances headquarters in belgium, odyssey justified the abandonment of the afghan people at the time of maximum

conflict zone. in 30 minutes on w. o was right in front of them all for this one moment. then suddenly we agreed to postpone beer lindsay game central care with $22021.00 strong off course. during the qualifying ground. not least for sports heroes. actually, it was a slap in the face, but now we just have to fight their mobilizing superpowers. i'm fired up and ready the hell down during walk down. the go to tokyo starts july 19th on d, w. o. the point against the corona virus pandemic.

now has the rate of infection in developing what measures are being taken? what does the latest research say? information and context, ah, i recently dated the special monday to friday on d. w. the world, the ticket to be on as we take on the world, we're all about the stories that matter to you by policemen

we are here is actually on fire for mines in the ah ah, this is the news lie from burning severe storms falls across parts of germany, at least 30 people have died. dozens are missing, and holmes has collapsed. heavy floods lives, part of the country on there was also coming up to south africa. counts the cost of a week of lawless people are returning to business trip center. destroyed by

looting the government versus spending thousands more soldiers onto the streets.