Obama's Berlin speech: History raises the stakes

Political News Photos

US President Barack Obama, right, waves next to German President Joachim Gauck after he was welcomed with military honors at the presidential residence Bellevue castle in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2013. On the second day of his visit to Germany Obama is meeting with German President Gauck and German Chancellor Angela Merkel before delivering a speech at Brandenburg Gate. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer)

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Obama's Berlin s... US President Barack Obama, right, waves next to German President Joachim Gauck after he was welcomed with military honors at the presidential residence Bellevue castle in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 19, 2013. On the second day of his visit to Germany Obama is meeting with German President Gauck and German Chancellor Angela Merkel before delivering a speech at Brandenburg Gate. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer)
Senator: IRS to ... In this June 11, 2013, photo, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Grassley says the Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts. He says his office has learned that the IRS is executing an agreement with the employees’ union on Wednesday, June 19, 2013, to pay the bonuses. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Social issues st... FILE - In this March 20, 2010, file photo. Rep. John C. Fleming, R-La., speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill with fellow Republican members as they discuss health care overhaul in Washington. House Republicans flexed their cultural and conservative muscles Tuesday, passing the most restrictive abortion measure in years. They also advanced legislation to crack down on immigrants living illegally in the country, even as senators pursue a plan that would offer those same millions a shot at citizenship. The actions reflect a roiling debate among Republicans over why they lost two elections to President Barack Obama, and how best to rebuild a winning formula. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)
Budget office vi... People shout out against the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act in the hall outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Obama relying on... FILE - In this June 6, 2013, file photo, a woman talks on the phone outside the U.S. Courthouse in Washington, where the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court resides. The obscure oversight board that President Barack Obama wants to scrutinize the National Security Agency’s secret surveillance system is little known for good reason. The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has operated fitfully during its eight years of its low-profile existence, stymied by Congressional in-fighting and its work at times censored by government lawyers. The privacy board planned to meet privately Wednesday, June 19, 2013, in its first meeting since revelations that the NSA has been secretly collecting the phone records of millions of Americans: It was closed to the public. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
Obama to renew c... President Barack Obama listens to French President Francois Hollande during the G-8 summit at the Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The final day of the G-8 summit of wealthy nations is ending with discussions on globe-trotting corporate tax dodgers, a lunch with leaders from Africa, and suspense over whether Russia and Western leaders can avoid diplomatic fireworks over their deadlock on Syria’s civil war. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
NSA director say... From left, Deputy Attorney General James Cole; National Security Agency (NSA) Deputy Director Chris Inglis; NSA Director Gen. Keith B. Alexander; Deputy FBI Director Sean Joyce; and Robert Litt, general counsel to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; prepares to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, before the House Intelligence Committee hearing regarding NSA surveillance. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Military plans w... FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2012 file photo, female soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division train on a firing range while testing new body armor in Fort Campbell, Ky., in preparation for their deployment to Afghanistan. Women may be able to begin training as Army Rangers by mid-2015, and as Navy SEALs a year later under broad plans Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is approving that would slowly bring women into thousands of combat jobs, including those in the country’s elite special operations forces, according to details of the plans submitted to Hagel that were obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
Google asks FISA... FILE - In this April 12, 2012 file photo, Google workers ride bikes outside of Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Google on Tuesday, June 18, 2013, sharply challenged the federal government's gag order on its Internet surveillance program, citing what it described as a First Amendment right to divulge how many requests it receives from the government for data about its customers in the name of national security. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
House, Senate on... Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., accompanied by members of the GOP leadership, meet with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, following a Republican strategy session. From left are, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., McConnell, and Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House takes up f... Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, at House Judiciary Committee hearing to discuss the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act. Republicans in the House of Representatives on Tuesday make their most concerted effort of the year to change U.S. abortion law with legislation that would ban almost all abortions after a fetus reaches the age of 20 weeks. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Obama's influenc... US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha, left, and Malia disembark from Air Force One at the Tegel airport in Berlin Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Obama arrived for a two-day official visit to Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Medicare: Cost-s... FILE - In this March 14, 2009 file photo, a woman gets ready to check her blood sugar in Sacramento, Calif. Medicare begins a major change next month that could save older diabetics money and time when they buy crucial supplies to test their blood sugar _ but it also may cause some patient confusion. On July 1, Medicare opens a national mail-order program for diabetes testing supplies that will drop substantially the prices the government pays for those products _ and will restrict who's allowed to sell them. The goal is to save taxpayer dollars, and seniors in the program should see their copays drop, too, from more than $15 an order to less than $5. For a chronic disease, that can add up fast. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater, File)
Civil rights gro... Supporters of a lawsuit challenging the NYPD's Muslim surveillance program, hold signs during a gathering on a plaza in front of New York City Police Department headquarters, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, civil rights lawyers urged a U.S. judge to declare the NYPD's widespread spying programs directed at Muslims to be unconstitutional, order police to stop their surveillance and destroy any records in police files.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Booker encounter... FILE - In a Saturday, June 8, 2013 file photo, Newark Mayor Cory Booker announces his plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat that opened with the death of Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) during a news conference in Newark, N.J. Booker, 44, is currently serving in his second term as mayor. At center is former Sen. Bill Bradley. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz, File)