Brisk in Berlin. (Scan).(Brief Article)

President George W. Bush finally visited Germany. On May 23, he addressed members of the German parliament in Berlin. Unfazed by the thousands of grungy demonstrators protesting his visit outside the Reichstag, Mr. Bush was calm, steady, and gracious. He praised Europeans for uniting their countries peacefully, and he thanked the Germans for their sympathy after 9/11. He praised German policing efforts in Afghanistan. He spoke of "valued friends." But the purpose of his talk was not to deliver air kisses.

In the opening of his speech, Mr. Bush presented a diplomatic but explicit reminder of what the U.S. has done for Germany: "To this city, Allied planes brought food and hope during 323 days and nights of siege." He invoked the visits of Kennedy and Reagan to the once-divided city. And he made sure that Germany's political leaders remembered that "thousands of monuments in parks and squares across my country" are dedicated "to young men of 18 and 19 and 20 whose lives ended in battle on this continent."

The freedom of the European continent, this President reminded his hosts, was paid for by American sacrifice, blood, and honor. And he explained unapologetically that to protect freedom today, the U.S. will continue to take military action against ...