In Germany, Obama urges joint fight against terror, more trans-Atlantic cooperation

Copied

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama stood before an enormous crowd in Berlin on Thursday and summoned Europeans and Americans to work together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it."

Speaking in the Tiergarten, a park not far from where the Berlin Wall once divided the city, the presumptive Democratic nominee urged Americans, Berliners, and people of the world to work together for a better world.

"A new generation, our generation, must make our mark on history," he said.

He told the tens of thousands who had gathered in front of the Victory Column that "the walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand."

He spoke of tearing down walls between countries, between races, between religions, and working to end the war in Iraq.

"This is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close," he said, drawing thunderous applause.

Obama's visit in Germany is part of an international tour designed to burnish his foreign policy credentials as a presidential candidate. He's already been to the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan.