Captioned: "The long-awaited new United States embassy is currently nearing completion on Berlin's historic Pariser Platz." Photo credit: DDP
Posted on 10/23/2006 10:32:12 AM PDT by Atlantic Bridge
One thing was clear at the topping out ceremony for the new United States Embassy in Berlin. The new building is a modern-day fortress.
Officials at the United States State Department still haven't forgotten the 1985 debacle over their new embassy in Moscow. They were forced to drastically rebuild the costly structure after discovering that the Soviets had incorporated listening devices into concrete walls. The problem was so extensive that the embassy's upper floors had to be completely demolished and rebuilt.
Last week the Americans completed the raw construction of yet another new embassy, this time in Berlin. And this time they have learned their lessons from the past -- from Moscow, but also from Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Karachi, where Islamists caused devastating damage with car bombs. For some, the new embassy next to Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate is an architectural jewel. But it is also a fortress designed to stop both spies and would-be attackers in their tracks.
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
Anti-Americanism is alive and well in Germany, and recently Germany has become rather infamous for its role in terrorism.
Der Spiegel is particularly vicious in its anti-Americanism. German-American blog Davids Medienkritik keeps a good, running account of it at:
http://medienkritik.typepad.com
Yep. Germans seem to think the dumb americans dont know how much we are talked about,and how much anti-US foaming at the mouth ranting goes on there. Combine that with the influx of muslims and there you go.Americans are'nt dumb(the majority knows whats going on but could care less about what europe thinks),europe is just spoonfed anti-US multicult propaganda day in and day out.I pity them really.
I don't think our relationship will ever be what we Americans thought it was. There is too much information out there showing Americans where we stand in relationships and so-called friendships. Now that's a shame.
Captioned: "The long-awaited new United States embassy is currently nearing completion on Berlin's historic Pariser Platz." Photo credit: DDP
It looks like a parking garage.
I guess you were asleep when the news kept coming across the wires about how our embassies were being attacked by Muslims.
And I guess were asleep when the news kept coming across the wires about how the Muslims are rioting in France.
And I guess you've been asleep as to how Muslim influence is growing in Germany.
Please wake up - I would really like Germany to fall back into my "nice, warm thoughts" category.
However, between the points above, the a-holes Schroeder & Joschka Fischer, and Airbus overtures to China, a fortified spy-proof embassy is really a no brainer.
David's Medienkritik is mostly crap. And left-tending anti-war media is of course Anti-Americanism. So effectively the whole political left of the US is Anti-American. Victim card bullsh.
BuHuHaHa! Why do you waste your time and bazillions of your money in building such a ugly embassy in Berlin then? Your argumentation contradicts itself. The truth is that America lost lots of its influence in western Europe and western Europe lost lots of its influence in America. Since Germany was somehow a quasi-occupied area with limited possibilities (although under fantastic conditions - we do not have to discuss this) until 1990, the American loss of influence in western Europe is much more significant.
Love it or hate it - Gerhard Schroeder was a total deadbeat except one thing: He triggered Germany's overdue emancipation from the US.
While "old" Germany was not able to formulate its own interests, "new" Germany is. That may be not always in the interest of America but it is for sure in the interest of Germany.
:-)
We have a old bonmot in Swabia, the area in southern Germany where I was born: There is no damage without a benefit. Personally it would be my wish that we are able to establish a new friendship that is conform with those new realities since the old times will never come back. America must answer the question, if friendship and alliance is restricted to dumb subordination and dominance alone. The political "master-and-servant" game is definitly over with Germany.
Yeah, it sure was in the interest of Germany to weasel out of enforcing the U.N. Security Council's resolutions concerning Iraq's breaking the terms that ended the Gulf War.
Doing so enabled Germans to continue being preening little besservissers, while leaving the heavy lifting to the real men of America, Great Britian, Australia, Italy, (for a while) Spain, El Salvador, Poland, and others.
Bravo Germany! You showed the world for what you are - not the U.S.!
Of course you can say that it is always immoral not to support the US in all cases. From a German view such a stance is quite ridicolous since we are not your bondslaves. Of course the positive outcome in Iraq is in the interest of France and Germany too. Nevertheless it is -regrettably- not said that this war made this region safer. The gouvernment in Iraq is instable, the general officers of the Brits want to pull out and each day that God gives there are 30-40 people killed by terrorists in this shaken country. Al Quaida has obviously found a new base after its former foundation in Afghanistan was destroyed. I do not say that the Iraq war was wrong, but if we compare the growing problems with the potential threat through the further existance of Saddam Hussein (nobody in Europe believes -neither in the past nor today- into the WMD-story) it is not said if this war was very effective. War or not? There are enough good reasons for us western continental Europeans to deal this question with reservation. Such a consideration has to be done with with cool calculus.
There can be reason to give in some national interests for a higher goal - i.e. like freedom in Iraq. As a German patriot I was always in sharp discrepancy with my gouvernment concerning this question. I belong to those few in my country who think that Germany (and France) should have supported the WOT in a more proportional way. We western Europeans could bring in much more than we do in the moment if there would be the political will to do so. But that is not the point. We are talking about the emancipation of Germany from America.
Besides - everything we did so far in the ME we did because of America and not because of our own interests in that area. Our politicians and populace did not see the dictator in Iraq as a real threat. On the other hand we helped you in Afghanistan as good as possible, since there we saw a real danger and we understood your fierce reaction after 9/11. There are large European contigents just because we wanted to help America as a friend and we are still standing by your side. We have for sure no other interests in this godforsaken place.
I'm sure there are good German soldiers, no doubt. But the resolve of your country is far from solid, even in the case of Afganistan. Which isn't a shocker.
I suggest you review your last two sentences and ask the mods to remove your post.
Germans are consistently making this bed, so they can't complain about needing to sleep in it.
That is really great! If you can do without our help please do me the favor and take influence on your president to tell our chancellor, Mrs. Angela Merkel to pull those f...... huns out immediately. She will be happy to oblige. That much is sure. It is up to you to rule the world (as long as it is not Europe). Have fun in Tora Bora and the famous nightclubs of Kabul! The money we will save will make quite a few barrels of sauerkraut and good Bavarian beer. Tabledancers in Paris are inclusive. Prosit!
Germans are consistently making this bed, so they can't complain about needing to sleep in it.
Actually, thank you for your response. With a few minutes contemplation, I realize that the last two sentances of my post require retraction and rewording. I have some German relatives I care for, and that have good values. I'm just furious with those - unfortunately majority - of Germans I run into both here, over there, and online who don't see how they consistently trend.
Admin moderator, please pull my post #13.
My post 13, with the last paragraph reworded:
Of course you can say that it is always immoral not to support the US in all cases. From a German view such a stance is quite ridicolous since we are not your bondslaves.
This speaks to a pathetic level of low-self-esteem by Germans. Here I listed over a half-a-dozen countries that worked together to enforce the U.N. resolutions that the GERMANS voted on. Yet you, and Germans, want to speak of getting rid of Saddam as being American "bondslaves". Pathetic.
You care to walk up to an Aussie, a member of the Scottish Black Watch, an operator of Poland's GROM, the Italian Col Moschin, or any other member of the coalition, and call them "America's bondslaves"?
I know you wouldn't. Not because you have any brains to reason with. I know because you don't have the balls.
I've been to Germany recently, and can verify that your people just don't have what it takes to deal with the troubles of this world. Just a collection of chattering ninnies, talking about how the world would be a better place with that guy who invaded countries, gassed people, and ran rape rooms.
(Changed wording starts here)
I very much want to impress upon Germans just how negative their passive backing of Saddam Hussien is to their reputation. Your actions - by weapon sales, by backing out of enforcing Security Council resolutions, and now by saying he shouldn't have been toppled - only goes to reenforce an image of Germans as giving active or passive support of evil dictatorships, in particular ones that gas civilians.
You can't go back in time and undo the actions of your forefathers. But you must realize when you appear to take actions to step up to the plate of world responsibility (by joining the U.N. Security Council), then backing out as you did (not enforcing findings)- to the benefit of a dictator who gasses people - brings back incredibly bitter memories of sacrifice to defeat German-backed evil.
What I wrote at the end of the original post 13 was an indication of the level of disgust that comes with those memories. But of course such words always bring just anger in response, rather than enlightenment, and the latter should really be the point of FR.
If you are posting here, you are more likely to be friend than foe. Please take the ending words of this post as plea to understand just why Germany's actions/inactions regarding Iraq have rekindled hard-learned opinions about your country.
As I wrote many posts back, it would really be nice if we can start thinking of ourselves as allies again - but that can only happen if we feel - by actions, not just words - that we share the same values.
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