Before her November 3 address to U.S. senators and representatives, Merkel met with President Obama at the White House, where the president commented on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. "This is a special moment for Chancellor Merkel, as somebody who grew up in East Germany, who understands what it's like to be under the shadow of a dictatorial regime, and to see how freedom has bloomed in Germany, how it has become the centerpiece for an extraordinarily strong European Union" Obama said. Congratulating the chancellor on her recent re-election, Obama said Merkel has been "an extraordinary leader on the issue of climate change," and expressed gratitude for the sacrifices of German soldiers in Afghanistan and their continuing role to help "bring peace and stability to Afghanistan and to create the environment in which the Afghan people themselves can provide for their own security." Full Article at News Blaze