Posted on 09/03/2012 7:39:50 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
A report that Germany plans to sell two submarines to Egypt has triggered speculation about a deterioration in German relations with Israel. The German government stressed on Monday that it remained committed to Israel's security -- but officials declined to comment on the report.
Class 209 submarine
The German government on Monday reaffirmed its commitment to Israel after media reports said relations between the two countries had been damaged by an unconfirmed deal to supply Egypt with two German-made submarines.
A German government spokesman declined to comment on an article which appeared in the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram last Friday and cited the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian navy, Osama al-Gindi, as saying: "We have agreed to a deal with Germany to procure two submarines of the latest 209 Class."
On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said only: "There has been no change in the German government's position towards Israel, in the commitment the German government feels towards Israel's security."
But he declined to comment on the supposed deal, saying the government maintained secrecy concerning matters dealt with by the Federal Security Council, a government committee that decides on sensitive weapons export deals.
Israeli newspaper Jediot Achronot reported on Sunday that ties between Israel and Germany had dramatically deteriorated because of the deal. The Israeli government declined to comment on Monday.
Class 209 submarines are built by the companies HDW and Nordseewerke. Germany has sold some 60 of those vessels to 12 nations.
Fears about Egypt Grow in Israel
Israel's relations with Egypt have deteriorated since Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February 2011. The Egyptian revolution has stirred fears in Israel that Egypt may undermine the peace treaty the two nations signed in 1979. According to Jediot Achronot newspaper, Israel is worried that its
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
Where they gonna park(hide)it?
What are they buying it with? They have NO MONEY. Just our aid.
Do Germans really still call submarines ‘U-boats’, or is this just another case of journalistic malpractice?
.... as Obama continues enabling his arab spring/mb/ north African caliphate and his proxies at America’s expense, actually at democracy’s expense.
Empowering an entity where democracy is antithetical to the core values in Sharia and the Koran is not presidential by any stretch of the imagination.
Whatever happens to Israel happens to western man.....
Maybe they're trading it for ancient Egyptian loot?
Berlin marks 100 years of discovering Nefertiti
"The bust (Nefertiti) is at the top of a "wish list" of five major artifacts exhibited abroad that Egypt wants returned . . ."
yitbos
I recently completed my thesis, which was on worldwide naval proliferation.
Basically, the single most important thing I found is that one should never, EVER believe reports about Third World submarine purchases until the subs are actually built and delivered.
Countries like Thailand have supposedly bought submarines 5-6 times in the last 20 years; they still have none. Venezuela has been supposedly buying Russian KILO class submarines for the last 7 years.
You see a lot of panicky articles about some sort of out-of-control worldwide submarine proliferation; actually the total number of subs in the world isn’t rising, and the number of countries with submarines is actually going down. They’re just expensive.
The only countries in the world that actually have a growing sub fleet of any note are China, South Korea, and Vietnam.
The Egyptians desperately need to replace their Romeos (which, remarkably, have been modified to fire US Harpoon missiles) but I can’t conceive of them being able to afford new-build Type 209s; used Type 209s - possibly.
Of course not. Auf deutsch sind sie "U-Boote".
yitbos
Will these boats actually sink?
If they sink, will they surface again?
Propaganda is very powerful.
yitbos
Here’s a website FReepers might be interested in surfing.
http://stratrisks.com/
I don't speak'a ze Deutsch, but I think you just told me that they do.
Der nomenklatura U-Bost is der namen for zie Unterwassenboaten mitt der peepenscopen und der tuben shooten thingens.
See...Deutsche is easy!
See...Deutsche is easy!
Oh, my, word. That's the best damn laugh I've had all day. Thanks!
Hilarious! Just forwarded to our son-in-law who works on subs in Portsmouth, NH.
We’re building Egyptian gunboats right here in the US.
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