What is Merkel Telling Putin?

When German Chancellor Angela Merkel last came to the White House, she was furious over revelations by an NSA turncoat that U.S. intelligence was listening to her phone calls. President Obama promised it wouldn’t happen again.

Well, when she visits the White House today, the reason for monitoring such foreign communications will be obvious. Ms. Merkel is currently leading secret negotiations with Vladimir Putin that seem likely to sell out Ukraine – just at the moment when Mr. Obama reportedly is considering helping Ukrainians defend themselves from intensifying Russian aggression.

True, the President is really no more interested in punishing Putin than are the Germans, who depend critically on Russia for energy and trade. Still, we have a need to know whether our German allies are steadfastly opposing the Kremlin, or doing its bidding.