About twenty years ago, there was a common belief that military power meant little, that the soft power of Germany and Japan would rule the world.

NEWYORKER: After America

Although it pointedly declined a bail-out in America, it has been happy to take grants and soft loans in Germany and Romania to develop an efficient engine.

ECONOMIST: State aid proliferates in Europe

Mr. KARSTEN VOIGT (Coordinator, German-American Cooperation, Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany): The mood is that the Germany is soft on Iran.

NPR: German Chancellor Merkel to Visit Bush