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| Europe |
| Germany Rising |
| 2003-07-07 |
| This is a somewhat long but fascinating look at the evolution of modern Germany's armed forces and recent commitments to "out of country" peace-keeping. Excerpts: "Something that has gone unnoticed lately is the fact that Germany now has the second largest international troop deployment abroad, behind the US." ...and... "In Africa, Germany is being drawn into more and more action mainly by its European neighbor, France. With the exception of Somalia, in most of the countries where German troops have been deployed they have stayed or increased their number over the years." A welcome return of German pride: "The Germans to the front!" demanded some of the media in Germany -- a reference to the first historical engagement of German troops in an international military operation. On June 22, 1900 the British Admiral Seymour led a multi-national corps against the Boxer rebels in China and gave at that day the order: "The Germans to the front!" Tools of the Phrench? "... The EU mission, which was approved by the UN Security Council at the end of May, is de facto a typically traditional French neo-colonial military interference in Africa. It has been sold to the public as a response to the savage civil war atrocities in the northern province of Congo..." ...and... "At least since the mid-1990s, a number of German sergeants and officers have been trained by the French in African jungles. Several times in the past French governments tried to order the Franco-German corps into African states to solve their post-colonial problems. But Bonn and later Berlin always resisted those French desires -- until now. Schröder made a big issue out of his opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq -- "I don't send German troops on an adventure!" he exclaimed -- and for the first time since 1945 chose Paris over Washington, so he now has to stick with Chirac through thick and thin. And the African "adventures" of the French are certainly riskier than the British-American war on Iraq." And much more... In fact, there is more than enough here to spark a few fires, methinks. I, for one, wait to see how long Germany allows Shroeder to make them subordinate to Chirac's delusions of grandeur. |
| Posted by:PD |