Reaching for the Bomb

WARSAW/HAMBURG/BERLIN (Own report) – The Polish government’s éminence grise, Jarosław Kaczyński, has picked up the German establishment’s call to acquire its own nuclear weapons. He would welcome it, if the EU would become a “nuclear superpower,” Kaczyński told a leading German daily. Last week, the left liberal, government critical “Panorama” television program of the ARD’s Norddeutscher Rundfunk channel called for launching an “open debate” on the “German nuclear bomb,” because “no state” could presently be “confident” that the USA, under President Trump, would “unconditionally defend the other NATO allies.” To “deter” Russia from attacking a member of the Alliance, in this situation, it is necessary to have national control over nuclear weapons, claimed the authors of the program. Numerous experts from think tanks, the media and from the political domain have expressed similar views, even while differing, on whether to confide the nuclear war potential to the authority of the EU’s military bodies or to the German government.

Europe: Christmas Shoppers in Jihadist Crosshairs

In Ludwigshafen, Germany, a “‘strongly radicalized” 12-year-old boy “of Iraqi heritage” planted a bomb at a Christmas market at the end of November. (Image source: Focus video screenshot)

 

 

• In Ludwigshafen, Germany, a “‘strongly radicalized” 12-year-old boy “of Iraqi heritage” planted a bomb at a Christmas market at the end of November.
• Previously, the festive shopping tradition of Christmas markets had become “potent symbols of freedom,” with Germany’s Interior Minister, Thomas de Maizière, urging people to stick to unserem Leben — “our way of life.”
• In Birmingham, England, the Christmas market has concrete barriers installed to deter vehicular suicide bombers. According to the head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service, the magnitude of the terrorism faced by the UK is “unprecedented.”
• French security forces thwarted attacks planned for December 1, against Disneyland Paris and the Christmas market on the main thoroughfare of the French capital, the Champs-Elysée.
• With a pro-Sharia (Islamic law) advocate now secretary of state in the Berlin regional senate, and other Muslims even refusing to shake the hand of the German President Joachim Gauck at events designed to promote integration, Germany’s “way of life” is changing fast.

As the winter nights lengthen, an even darker shadow is falling across the run-up to the Christmas holidays in several European nations. Families in markets and shopping districts across the continent are buying presents in the knowledge that jihadists mean to target them.

Three Years New Global Policymaking

BERLIN (Own report) – At this years German “Unification” celebrations in Dresden – three years after his first public appeal for an extensive German global policy – German President Joachim Gauck can look back on a successfully concluded phase. October 3, 2013, Gauck first called on Germany to become more involved – also militarily – in international affairs. The campaign initiated with his speech had been carefully prepared and was aimed at incorporating members of the German elite, such as university professors and journalists from leading media organs. The Bundeswehr’s recently adopted new White Paper is somewhat the official crowning of this campaign. In this paper, Berlin explicitly announced its commitment to global leadership, and, if necessary, to its enforcement by military means. At the same time, Berlin is pushing for the Bundeswehr’s arms build-up and the militarization of the EU. Germany is increasing its military involvement in the “Arc of Crisis,” as it is often called, meaning the arc of countries ranging from Mali, to Libya, Syria and Iraq.

New German Paper Signals Dramatic Military Shift

Germany officially casts off postwar military restraint and promises to help ‘in shaping the global order.’

Germany has gone through a radical transformation in how it views its military. In May 2010, German President Horst Köhler said that “a country of our size needs to be aware that … military deployment, too, is necessary if we are to protect our interests such as ensuring free-trade routes or preventing regional instabilities.” At that time, the idea that Germany would use its army to protect economic interests was so controversial that he was forced to resign.

Germany to launch new military strategy

Defense Minister says German armed forces will act under new strategy from 2016, marking a formal end to its post-WWII pacifist policy.

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Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced in Berlin on Tuesday that Germany, which has been traditionally hesitant in taking part in international military operations mainly because of its Nazi past, would act “without any taboos”.

Leadership In and With Europe

BERLIN (Own report) – Germany should play “a more important global role” and assume a stronger “leadership in and with Europe,” according to a German government advisor’s assessment of a PR discussion of foreign policy, initiated by the German Foreign Ministry. According to the foreign minister, the discussion, in the framework of the project “Review 2014,” should help to close the “glaring gap” between the Berlin establishment’s global policy orientation and the population’s “willingness” to condone, for example, military missions. Prepared and conducted by the foreign ministry’s Policy Planning Staff, This project is part of a campaign for a more aggressive German global policy. The German President launched this campaign with a speech in celebration of the 2013 German national holiday. According to the assessment of the “Review 2014,” the discussion seems to indicate a consensus that “Germany, alone, is too insignificant to affect changes in global policy.” Hence, Germany needs the EU. “Europe possesses the political clout necessary for Germany to be able to effectively pursue its interests.” In the future, Germany’s “partnership with the USA” must be on an “equal footing.”