16.11.2009 / 08:32 CET
Is Asia higher up the US's hierarchy of priorities than Europe?
For better or worse, President Barack Obama's absence at the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and, days later, his departure for a tour of Asia is being seen as a sign that he is turning the US's back on Europe.
Does this mean Europe no longer matters so much for the United States? Is it an intentional slight? Is there a deeper significance?
Similar questions were asked when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was in Berlin on 9 November in Obama's stead, chose to make Asia the destination of the first foreign trip of her tenure some nine months ago.
