German officials have made no bones about wanting an interventionist foreign policy, despite repeated polls showing the public strongly opposed to overseas adventures.
So when the Crimea dispute cropped up, it might as well have been Christmas for the Merkel government, which is now using it as leverage to push through plans for more operations abroad.
The target is eastern Europe, which has a long history of unpleasant military interactions with Germany, but where the Merkel government is planing to increase deployments, starting with warplanes to up patrols in the area.
This is being done nominally to “counter Russia,” and Baltic states with little military of their own to oversee are only too eager to see foreign deployments there, a ticket to making their portfolios relevant.
So far, all of the aerial deployments to eastern Europe have just increased tensions, putting neighboring Belarus on edge, and leading them to encourage Russia to deployment more warplanes in Minsk to protect against NATO’s expansion.
Now heres an idea that ought to make everyone in Poland and Lithuania excited: The Bundeswehr in force in Warsaw. Fond memories, that. Will they march in singing the Horst Wessel?
Or perhaps "und Wir fahren, und Wir fahren, gegen Engeland, Engeland"?
Let's hope this is the beginning of the end of the Merkel government and its replacement by one more adapted to the realities of German-Russian relations. She has become America's poodle, and with or without the haircut is ridiculous indeed.
The method of war pioneered by the US and used by Russia in Crimea is the Color Revolution for regime change, which new regime then invites in the invasion.
That is done by various well developed methods of destabilization, mobilization of crowds, and selection of malleable leaders who are given goodies to distribute and promises to make, like EU rescue without mention of IMF destruction of the existing economy.
Germany is badly misplaying this game. Germany is only inviting such attack by putting just enough force in to offend the Russians. Trip wire forces are the stuff of nuclear confrontation, and have nothing to do with the new form of creeping conventional war. The American trip wire in Georgia did them no good even under Bush, and Eastern European trip wires of Germans or Americans would do no more good. It only draws down trouble.
Regime change is now done by new rules. Germany is playing old rules.
The IMF will find that it is a long game, and their usual conduct will also produce defeat as they destroy their own side before the contest is truly over.
All of this is good for Americans here at home. Just as fear of communism and fascism caused our plutocrats to make nice, the new form of warfare will require them to make nice to avoid losing. The IMF cannot destroy their "friends" and they cannot make of us an example of what is to be avoided.
I obviously gave Merkel more credit than she deserves if she is seriously considering this agenda. The next German election should be very interesting – maybe Merkel is just tired of being Kanzlerin.
They'll get Danzig back by hook or by crook.
Deployments outside of Europe are undoubtedly unpopular in Germany. The Germans have always looked first and foremost to Eastern Europe and it is a lot easier to "sell" deployments there. Germany is widely admired in modern Europe and attempts to hype the Nazi past fall on deaf ears here. Few are old enough to remember WWII, so that German military deployments will be welcomed in the east, all the more so as the enemy everyone remembers is the Soviet Union. Thus, what people fear is a return of the Russians and Putin strutting up an down in front of the TV cameras doing an imitation of the Hollywood stereotype of a "Soviet" leader naturally frighttens them.
They, and by that I mean EU and USG in cooperation with Turkey-Saudis-UAE have created a situation where a world war has become the next military action by USA-NATO. In one hand you have the Saudis barbarians in charge of Libya, governing their own municipals, towns and regions sharing the Libyan resources with those who have a total control of Libya weapons sending it to Egypt and Syria for their kind to fight the people in Middle East and later, perhaps Europe. The European governing body so as USG are well aware of Libyan situation, in the other hand you have the growth of Neo fascism, nationalism all over Europe where in fact some of the aristocrats and far right governments are in bed with these elements prying for better days to come, the Swedish government is one of them. Either governments, USG-EU governing body, Angela Markell is included, although they recognize the threats, hence, being opportunistic, they are using the political and social economic opportunities provided to them in Ukraine and other part of Eastern Europe where their primary interests is the countries strategical location, mean time they are getting ready preparing for next invasion from North Africa, Libya to Middle East and Eastern Europe or even Russia.
For now, they cry Wolfe and cry crocodile like when Bill Clinton was crying the Wolfe for Albanian sunny Muslims being massacred by Serbian people, or when Bush regime was crying river for the world saying that Saddam going to destroy the world in 20 minutes, actually it was the British government headed by non other then Tony Blair who was saying that, but Anglo Saxon is Anglo Saxon no matter which is crying the Wolfe or which crying crocodile.
The key will be to eliminate the draft in Germany, if it has not already been so done. Then, as with America, they can use the all-volunteer force to deploy them at will.
When the Crimea dispute cropped up, it might as well have been Christmas for the Merkel government, which is now using it as leverage to push through plans for more operations abroad.