Speaking today in Berlin, Britain’s Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said he believes Germany has a “huge potential” for fighting massive wars on NATO’s behalf, if only they’d “get over” World War 2.
Constitutionally, Germany’s government is barred from participating in any aggressive wars, but it sent a considerable number of troops to Afghanistan anyhow. This has led to an open-ended debate over whether Afghanistan is “technically” a war, as German politicians avoid the term at all cost.
Hammond said that World War 2, which happened a “long time ago,” has effectively held back both Germany and Japan from fighting massive wars. The speech was intended for Germany’s top defense officials, who don’t seem to need much convincing.
That’s not nearly so true for the German public, who seem quite happy not to fight constant wars, and quite glad to be rid of conscription. Britain may hope to turn Germany into a tool to “unleash” on its enemies, but there seems very little in it for the Germans.
Britain and the US need to get over the fact that their empires are in decline and should not expect Germany and Japan to help them with their global ambitions. The rise of Asia is the new reality.
England needs to get over the fact that its empire died a long time ago and is rotting in history books. They're desperately trying to hang on to whomever has power at the moment and get thrown the last breadcrumbs in a sorry attempt to gain some of the (in)glory falling on the degenerate US empire.
"Speaking today in Berlin, Britain’s Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said he believes Germany has a “huge potential” for fighting massive wars on NATO’s behalf, if only they’d “get over” World War 2."
I thought NATO existed to defend Western Europe from the Soviet Union?
Funny how mission creep works.
NATO exists to maintain American hegemony over Europe.
I think they already have, when German boots where allowed to march again and Luftwaffe to rain bombs over Belgrade in the western onslaught on Yugoslavia in the 90´s.
Since then they have been seen, yet again, threatening and shooting Serbs in Kosovo on behalf of their local clients from ww2 and among other atrocities, playing football with Afghan sculls.
Most notably, though, israel has received over 15 nuclear ready German Subs for free…
Israel doesn't want Germany to "get over" WW2, since they will lose a guilt-burdened sugar daddy.
Oh really, phil? How about you English dreck first get over the fact that you got your rears kicked in WW2 and spare us all the Kraut jokes. Second, get to realization that whatever bit of power you have left and the only reason anyone cares a tad bit about your miserable island is because you hang on to the US like some crackwhore begging for pennies.
I'm sure you dream of nothing more than seeing Germans die somewhere in the desert instead of your own cowards, but Germany and Japan are the few places on the planet where politicians have a minor sense of reason left and are held by the people to a modicum of a moral standard. Fight your own "massive wars" instead of crying for someone else to be as stupid as you.
How well put!
"Massive wars'!??! And where exactly does this lunatic want to fight them? God save us from such idiots — they will bring nothing but a misery to this planet. Who does he think he is? Is he still trying to push Germany to invade Russia? That was the stupidest thing Germany did, and it resulted in millions of dead Germans and Russians. May be this time Germany will resist the urge, and decide that it is by far better to trade and prosper, then fight "massive wars". It is not Germany's fault that London became the center of every scumbag that had to run out of their country after they rob it blind. And it is not their fault that German economy is booming, while UK wants to protect the "City" and all the financial manipulations that they call the economy"
Hello Bianca, would you recommend any books for someone wishing to educate themselves on this subject (City of London). Thank you.
I hope Germans and Japanese never "get over" WWII. It's bad enough that the US "got over it" by 1950, when they lost their first post-WWII fight, against North Korea. They've been on an almost perfect losing streak ever since.
Perhaps the British would like to hold up Israel as a model — a country that insists upon never getting over WWII but uses it as an excuse to feed their addiction to killing Muslims.
Simple question, would you like to live in the Caliphate, ruled according to Shariah?
You can thumbs down my answer all day but that doesn't answer my question.
I wouldn't like that, but that would never happen anyway.
There will be no more Caliphates, and eventually the people of the Muslim world will either modify Shariah, or scrap it.
Even if another Caliphate DID arise, it could no more take us over than the late, unlamented USSR could do it. In case you've forgotten, we have LOTS of nukes. No one can conquer us as long as we keep those.
You sound like you've been well and truly brainwashed by the hired propagandists of that Unholy Trinity, the Oil Lobby, the Death Gadget Lobby (oh, excuse me, the lobby of the "defense" industry, who are the biggest "welfare bums" of all), and the Israel First Lobby.
No "raghead terrists" are hiding under your bed, little boy. Speaking of thumbs, feel free to stop sucking yours any time.
Well said Monster. It's so hilarious how these simple minds keep listening to the idiot box and simply believe everything their told through it.
LOL! Sorry, it kills me!
Dear Guest, the part of London where I live is mainly Muslim, and while I cannot claim any special knowledge or expertise regarding Islam, I would expect that Shariah law is already practised here. This would mean people having civil disputes settled by a panel of elders who are steeped in Quranic learning.
Just up the road in Stamford Hill, the Hassidic Jewish community settle their civil disputes through their own system of Beth Din, based on the Torah.
I recommend that you search the Democracy Now website for an interview with the Pakistani political leader Imran Kahn. This might develop your understanding of what Shariah law actually is, and why it is favoured by the people there over the previous and largely discredited Western style system of 'justice'.
I suspect that the majority of posters and readers on this site share my own concerns about US fundamentalist Christians who believe that the second coming of their Lord will happen once Eretz Israel has achieved dominion over the Middle East. It is this constituency that Hammond is partly representing as he trots the globe doing his ridiculous imitation of Norman Podhoretz. http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2011/06/06/war-fatigu…
I would suggest that if you feel threatened by Islam then you need to ask yourself why.
good on you, mick. All the nonsense about Sharia when the Yanks accept the complete inanity of rapturous christians.
whoop! whoop! whoop!
Danger, Will Robinson!!
The irrefutable boogie-man argument has been loosed!!!
No. But, call us when Islamo-fascism is a real threat.
Until then, we'll recognize it for what it really is: A rallying cry to bolster support for the MIC and a lie by the likudniki and the neocons to make our best "friend" in the Middle East regional hegemon.
This exactly is promoted by the USA !!!
By supporting and arming muslim fighters in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria:
Ex-CIA officer: Braindead West wants Jihadists to rule Libya:
French defense expert
At 3:50: USA they "have a secret agreement with the Jihadists: YOU GET THE SHARIA AND WE GET THE OIL"
globalresearch.ca reporter from Libya
13:20 NTC people: it was the USA who brought in Al Qaida. Libyans do not want the islamists, but the US wants them and is controlling them.
rebels destroy christian cemetery !
Iran is a FAR more moral country than either the U.S. or Israel as it doesn't murder its neighbors in mass, in wars of aggression, does that answer your question fascist Zionist war monger.? And yes fascism as armed nationalism that engages in wars of aggression IS an accurate description of Zionism.
That is like comparing Zionsim to Nazism. In theory "both are the same", and driven by a racist superiority that does not tolerate dissent, or any race/religion that deviates from its own. Zionism has abused Judaism to a degree that has not only increased worldwide antisemitism, but has also given legitimacy to it in many cirlces.
If it means an end to justice for some (with the $$$) and injustice for everyone else., corrupted courts and scumbag attorneys, then yes. Give me Sharia Law.
But of course, Sharia wouldn't end any of those things.
Because whatever kind of law exists, it will be manipulated by us talking apes, who are basically amoral, because amorality is necessary to survive and propagate in an amoral and pitiless natural environment, such as the one in which our species had the misfortune to evolve. So, we're hard-wired for amorality.
This caliphate argument is hilarious and idiotic. It's simply a scare tactic. Islam is WAY too divided to ever become a united empire again.
What Caliphate? People who talk about a "Caliphate" are just plain unaware of the fact that there never was a Caliphate. When Islam broke out of the desert and spread from the Indus all the way to Spain, it immediate broke up into independent dynasties warring against each other, with the Caliph back in Baghdad no more influential than the Pope is today. To read about Saladin's problems trying to scrape together some sort of unity even to throw out the Crusaders shows what kind of threat a Caliphate is- that is to say, none whatsoever.
Not only will there never be another Calphate- there never was a Calphate.
How does Germany not fighting massive wars for others result in a Caliphate?
This man is a f****** moron to not realize that the last thing anyone anywhere wants to do is encourage militarism in Germany and Japan. Even Margaret Thatcher would agree with that. Though this time, the Soviet Union (sorry Russia) and China, would turn Germany and Japan into expensive mirrors, because that is who these massive wars will be against.
BTW, didn't this twat just reduce the size of the British Armed Forces, so why does he expect the Germans to take up the slack!
"NATO" is an inaccurate term. It should be NAZO, North Atlantic Zionist Organization.
The British created the Rhodes scholarship in order to convince many of America’s best minds there was a special relationship between the USA and the UK. Within a few years, America’s political elite drew America into World War 1. Since then America has allowed its military to be used for British interests in WW2, The Falklands, Bosnia, Libya and now Americas growing involvement in Uganda. The BBC regularly denounced President Bush 2 for not getting America involved in Darfur. And now the BBC is pushing for American involvement in Syria. The Germans would be smart not to allow the British to dictate their foreign policy.
…what a "headline"….
…I have more than a lot of respect for the Germans that realize that fighting "imperial wars"
is total bullshit…it's the Americans that want to continue, the "cold war" militarization of the planet…
and their Israeli handmaidens…or vice verse…in the US, we have 535 jerks, representing no one but their military-industrial-comlex lobbyists and bankers who launder blood money throughout the world…
….
really…who is the “site” administration”….
on what basis, do you decide what a “good” comment is?…where are your credentials and experience in the real world…
[moderator’s note: It’s not about whether a comment is “good” or “bad.” We use an automated system to catch spam, so that you don’t see 200 ads for Ugg boots and Zune media players for every real comment. We’ve added some additional filters to keep the Stormfront bubbas and such-like from using our site as their playground. When a comment gets blocked by those filters, a human looks at it to make sure that it should have been so blocked, and if not approves it to post (as I just did with your previous comment). You don’t have to like it — that’s how it is whether you like it or not — nor do I have to present my “credentials” to you – TLK]
Errr because they own the site.
Rather funny, all and all, since memories of Hitler and the Nazis are kept alive in the UK. The Bulldog spirit and all that-even though Great Britain has become America's poodle and has managed to forget what it learned in colonial wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.
What's interesting here is that WWII, which is still central to the American political discourse, is being swept under the carpet by what used to be America's "best boy" in Europe. It could also be observed the the British public are every bit as happy as their German counterparts not to fight constant wars. What we see here is thus Europeans growing closer together and growing further away from the American WWII and cold war "nanny".
With respect to Secretary Philip Hammond – what an A.H!
Right. Sven Lindqvist's great book "A history of Bombing" has lots on the British carpet bombing of Germany, even of Dresden when WW2 had legally ended. Brits claim not to believe the cruelty of their own military, like their colonial forebears.. Israel seems the only "nation" allowed to wallow in their victimhood.
The British probably rained more bombs down on civilians than the Germans. American pilots on History Channel shows piously explained that they bombed German villages with no military significance otherwise, because there were train tracks in the vicinity. Besides, they started it so it's okay to butcher innocent women, old men, and children. So much for the "greatest" generation.
Those two the US and the UK took German crimes one step further and killed civilians wholesale. Problem is: they wrote post war history, so they ended being the good guys.
I respect the German inclination to not fight pointless wars of aggression against weaker enemies at the behest of Americans and Brits, who like to wage war but don't want to sacrifice too many of their own brave soldiers, and would like others to pick up their slack.
Israel should get over WW2 and the Holocaust and stop using the Palestinians as their whipping boy. It's like an insecure, insane bodybuilder picking on the 98 lb. weakling and everyone looks the other way.
The UK should get over themselves – stick to what you're good at – movies and music and TV shows that Americans copy ad nauseum. Haven't you killed enough in the past few centuries?
NATO should have died with the USSR
The Germans as people have learned their lessons, we heard the horrible stories of what war really means from our fathers and grandfathers from WWI and WWII.
Unfortunately our polticians have learnt little obviously. Never again Germany should start or help in in a small or massive war on behalf on whomever!
I would really hope that Germany stays out of those conflicts! But I don't count on German Politician trash. I'm pretty sure those spineless pigs will do anything to please who ever runs them.
W9
The sad part is that Germany's stance on fighting wars does not include the fighting they promote by the sale of armaments.
Gus,
Excellent, and it also applies to all major arms exporters – France, Britain, Russia etc., and especially the U.S. The world needs less weapons, not more, and I'm not talking just about nuclear weapns. The German government are completely hypocritical when it comes to weapons, intending to supply Saudi Arabia with tanks in the future (so it can crush revolts in neighbouring countries) and free nuclear-capable submarines to Israel (so the German government can salve it's conscience – if it has one – about the past), allowing it to threaten Iran and any of it's neighbours.
Odd how in manys instances weapons exports are regarded as 'aid'. It's the sort of 'aid' the world needs less of.
Hammond should stick to playing his organ
If Germany "gets over" WW2, can they stop paying reparations to Israel then?
Here I am thinking that the UK is in a financial crisis. Well, if they're this gung-ho for war, I guess I was wrong.
Mayhap, the German economy is not on life support, as the British and American economies now are, because they haven't pi**ed away their national wealth fighting optional wars.
Let them start in Alsace, then East Prussia and on to Silesia.
The US & Britain should get over WWII and quit starting wars and end the ones they started. Israel should end its persecution of its Arab population and make peace with its neighbors.