In France and Germany on Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama said he wanted to renew the trans-Atlantic partnership. Part of that alliance, though, involves more European troops for Afghanistan, he said. Unexpectedly, Obama called for a world without nuclear weapons.

The reception for Barack Obama was just what most had been expecting. Hundreds of American flag-waving Baden-Baden residents turned out for the arrival of the U.S. president, many of them chanting "Obama, Obama." German Chancellor Angela Merkel received Obama with full military honors. She was joined by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung and a handful of other political luminaries.

The new U.S. leader, in Germany and France this weekend for the 60th anniversary celebration of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was quick to heap praise on Germany and to praise the tight relationship between Washington and Berlin. "I want to tell all Germans that we are thankful to have such an outstanding ally." He said the partnership with Germany was one of America's most valued.

Yet it was Obama's comments from earlier in the day that were attracting the most attention on Friday. Not only did the president pledge a renewal of trans-Atlantic relations - he also said that he seeks to create a world free of nuclear weapons. "This weekend in Prague," he said, "I will lay out an agenda to seek the goal of a world without nuclear weapons."

Obama made his comments during a speech to a sports arena full of young Germans and French. The stop recalled his ranging town meetings held on the campaign trail last year. This time, though, Obama used the occasion to lay out parts of his foreign policy agenda.