Focus on Global Politics

A ‘multi-speed EU’ isn’t a recent idea Merkel has had, as she first called for a ‘two-speed’ Europe in 2012. Continue watching developments as they unfold and get ready for a German-dominated United States of Europe.

 

BERLIN/BRUSSELS (Own report) – A new “White Paper” is supposed to precipitate the debate about the EU’s future. The paper, presented by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday, sketches out five scenarios for the EU’s possible development. These should be taken into consideration in preparations for the EU’s March 25 special summit. One of the scenarios corresponds to that of the “multi-speed EU,” which Chancellor Angela Merkel had recently called for. Juncker also now favors this demand. This demand means that certain groups of countries forge ahead with intensive cooperation in particular fields of politics leaving others two or three steps behind. This scenario permits the creation of multinational armed forces in Europe, in spite of persistent resistance from several EU member states. This is why Berlin favors it as a solution. Another of Juncker’s scenarios suggests that the EU reduce its number of key policy fields, to include warding off refugees, foreign and military policy. With elements of this scenario, Berlin could avoid paying billions to shoulder the consequences of the Brexit – at the expense of poorer EU members.

Springboard into the Pacific Region

BERLIN/CANBERRA (Own report) – To reinforce its position in the Pacific region, Berlin is initiating a regular dialogue with Australia at foreign and defense ministerial levels. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier are participating in the first “German-Australian 2+2 Dialogue” held today in Berlin. The meeting, which will be repeated at regular intervals, is one of the measures initiated in early 2013 to enhance cooperation between Berlin and Canberra, in light of the shift of global policy priority from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In view of its growing economic and political importance, Washington considers China to be its main rival of the future. Therefore US President George W. Bush (2002) and US Foreign Minister Hillary Clinton (2011) explicitly declared this to be “America’s Pacific Century,” and Washington has begun redeploying its military forces closer to the People’s Republic of China. Explicitly claiming to “help shape the global order,” Berlin also feels obliged to reinforce its position in that region.

Confronting New Wars

BERLIN (Own report) – The German Bundeswehr’s new “White Paper” is conceived as just a milestone in the ongoing development of German global policy and its instruments, according to an article published by Germany’s leading foreign policy periodical. According to the article’s two authors, who had been in charge of elaborating the “White Paper” for the German Defense Ministry, the White Paper’s explicit claim to shape global policy and policy for outer space must be implemented and “brought to life” in the near future. While the German government is initiating new projects for upgrading military and “civil defense” measures, the EU is boosting its militarization: A growing number of government leaders of EU member states are supporting the creation of an EU army under openly proclaimed German leadership. According to a leading German daily, the balance sheet of recent German military involvements is “not exactly positive,” but this should not discourage future military interventions. One should, however, not expect too much and harbor “illusions about rapid successes.”

Bundeswehr to Make Its Way Back Onto German Streets

Caption: Members of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces. (Getty Images)

 

A new white paper for the German Army and a new interpretation of the Basic Law

What do you do when you can’t change a law that you feel needs to be changed? Redefine it. Any child bent on bypassing the orders of his parents knows how to adroitly reason around wording, find loopholes, and justify disobedience. Germany is now taking this same path. The “parents,” in this case, were the founding fathers of modern Germany. The broken order, as recorded in the Basic Law, essentially states: You shall not use your army at home, neither shall you combine it with the police.

EU Army on way? EU cannot rely on NATO and needs new defence policy says Brussels chief

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini’s Global Strategy document states that “as Europeans we must take greater responsibility for our security”.

The white paper adds: “While NATO exists to defend its members — most of which are European — from external attack, Europeans must be better equipped, trained and organised to contribute decisively to such collective efforts, as well as to act autonomously if and when necessary.

Germany says ‘”Russia no longer our partner, but rival”

The German government has updated the White Paper – the guidelines on the country’s national security policy, with a new version stating Russia “is no longer Germany’s partner, but its rival” and now is one of the main threats, Ukraine Today reported citing Die Welt.

The White Paper was not amended since 2006. The new edition states that the world “changed a lot,”everything became “complicated, volatile and unpredictable” in terms of security, according to Ukraine Today.

The Wars of the Near Future (I)

The Fourth Reich rising:

 

BERLIN (Own report) – For the first time since 1990, the Bundeswehr will be increased in size, provided new capabilities and have its budget massively expanded. This was announced by Germany’s Minister of Defense, Ursula von der Leyen. According to her announcement, from now on, the German military’s “human resources” will be flexibly determined. For now, an additional 14,300 military personnel and 4,400 civilians will be added by 2023. The military budget, which, in 2000, was still at 23 billion Euros, will be increased to 39.2 billion by 2020. This is the materialization of Berlin’s geopolitical ambitions, which have been massively propagated since the fall of 2013, with the energetic participation of Germany’s President, who has repeatedly called for a more offensive German global policy with the inclusion of its military. In the process, Germany aims to take control of a ring of countries bordering on Europe – some, rich in natural resources – that can constitute, above all, a “cordon sanitaire” designed to shield the prosperous European empire from all sorts of problems. Because the EU’s original plans to use political-economic means to dominate this ring of states have proven unsuccessful, the German government is now turning to an open show of military force.

China to Extend Military Control to Indian Ocean

The Chinese regime said it’s wrapping up its construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea, and all signs suggest its next big push will be into the Indian Ocean.

Conflicts are already surfacing. India was caught off guard in May, when the Chinese regime docked a submarine in the nearby port of Karachi in Pakistan. Close to two months later, on July 1, Chinese defense spokesman senior Col. Yang Yujin tried lightening the concern by saying the Chinese navy’s activities in the Indian Ocean are “open and transparent.”

The same day, a very different announcement was made by a senior captain from China’s National Defense University. He warned India, saying they cannot view the Indian Ocean as their backyard.

Web Wars: German Army to Enter Global Cyberwar – German Media

 

The Bundeswehr is planning to unfold its “offensive capabilities” in cyber warfare. A new strategy paper of the Ministry of Defense considers the Internet as a potential war zone.

The Bundeswehr is facing a major change of its strategy in cyber warfare. In addition to defense against cyberattacks, the German army is due to perform attacks on foreign states, DWN wrote, referring to a strategy paper of the German Ministry of Defense.

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Germany faces increasing cyberattacks on its infrastructure. Therefore, according to German officials, the Bundeswehr should be responsible for “the defense against cyberattacks, which represent an armed attack on Germany” in the future.

Modern Strategy Concept (III)

BERLIN (Own report) – The elaboration of the German Ministry of Defense’s new White Paper is oriented on Cold War era scenarios. In her programmatic speech on this basic military policy document, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) accused Russia of following a “geostrategic hegemonic policy” and of using “military force” to “achieve its interests.” Members of the panel of experts appointed by the minister, therefore, call Russia a “threat” and demand a revival of the “deterrence” policy applied against the Soviet Union by the West. The authors of the first White Paper in 1969 had already used these terms to legitimize “limited” nuclear war against the USSR, allegedly oriented toward expansion. The subsequent military policy doctrine of the mid 1980s, even included nuclear first use to “combat the enemy’s potentials” on its own territory, because, in the event of war, Soviet territory would “not be inviolable.”

Modern Strategy Concept (II)

After the United States is done suiciding itself and falls into the hands of the Sino-Soviet axis, here’s who your next world superpower is going to be in a post-American world. The Fourth Reich has landed and its EU Army isn’t too far behind. It just needs the loss of American supremacy, which is why kicking out NATO is key.

 

BERLIN (Own report) – Experts, commissioned by the German defense ministry to formulate a new White Paper, have promoted Germany to the status of a global regulatory force. At a conference, discussing the basic military policy document currently in elaboration Volker Perthes of the government affiliated German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) also expressed this opinion. According to Perthes, Germany must see itself as a “responsible intermediate power” that “preserves and develops the global order.” Germany’s “regulatory” radius extends from its “eastern neighborhood” to Africa and the Middle East. Other SWP experts expressed similar views in a programmatic document: “Germany’s periphery” has been transformed into an “arc of crisis, extending from the Baltic to the Middle East and Maghreb.” According to the ministry of defense, the German concept of order is based on the EU’s ongoing military integration. The establishment of a “European Defense Union” remains the “ultimate goal.”

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”.