The West under Pressure

Give it time. Something has to fill the void for NATO which is showing no spine or competence. Germany, the powerhouse of Europe, and its upcoming Fourth Reich won’t sit idly and wait for Russia and China to rise and run the planet after America’s suicidal downfall. The European Army (see also HERE) is coming and an upcoming United States of Europe in the making will be the economic and political backbone.

BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Own report) – Transatlantic circles are warning against a global “disengagement” by the West and is calling for a renewed cohesiveness between NATO countries under US leadership. The fact that Russia was able to take over the Crimea and that China can obstinately maintain its position in disputes over several islands and groups of islands in Eastern Asia, is also a consequence of weak Western leadership, according to the “German Marshall Fund of the United States” (GMF). The West must draw lessons from the current “global disorder.” However, German experts demonstrate a bit more restraint in their appraisals. According to the latest edition of a German military journal, the current intra-Western tensions have primarily arisen from the fact that in the course of its development the EU has “inevitably become a competitor to NATO.” It cannot be excluded that this could cause a serious “rupture in transatlantic relations” and that NATO could even disintegrate into conflicts. However, as long as the EU does not have strong military power, it should “grit its teeth and continue to flexibly attempt to benefit from US capabilities.” This must also be seen in the context of the fact that western hegemony no longer seems assured. Moscow has announced its intentions to carry out joint maneuvers with China in the Mediterranean, thus breaching another western hegemonic privilege.

Powerful Ally

WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Own report) – Demands for a stronger orientation on a global cooperation with the United States are being raised in Germany’s foreign policy establishment. In face of growing global insecurity, it would be very useful to have a powerful ally, according to a programmatic article by an editor of “Die Zeit” published in Germany’s leading foreign policy journal. France could not replace a collaboration with the US, because it is too “state-led” and its “leadership is solely a network of relationships.” Berlin, however, could “assume more self-confidence” in its cooperation with Washington, because Germany has become “a minor superpower.” The fact that the Unites States is increasingly becoming a motor for the German export industry has a positive effect on plans for cooperation: German exports to the USA rose by one-third between 2010 and 2013. Observers expect an even more important increase, at a time, when German exports to central countries of the Euro zone and to Russia – once Germany’s export oriented companies’ great hope – are in a slump. New business opportunities with the USA are fueling political cooperation.