Posted on 12/03/2019 4:28:23 PM PST by Olog-hai
A majority of Germans are in favor of reducing Germanys reliance on the United States militarily, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by the German news agency DPA.
According to the poll, 55% of Germans believe that European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should protect themselves from an attack without US help. In addition, a majority of poll participants believe the US should partially (23%) or completely (26%) withdraw its 30,000 troops stationed in Germany.
Conversely, 54% said NATO should work more closely with Russia rather than relying on deterrence. Meanwhile, 37% are for lifting sanctions against Russia relating to its conflict with Ukraine on the Crimean Peninsula, while 34% are against lifting such sanctions. [ ]
Merkel said last week that Germany is not in a position to defend itself alone. She also vowed to increase Germanys defense spending to the NATO target of 2% of its gross domestic product by the 2030s.
(Excerpt) Read more at dw.com ...
Hungary. Czechoslovakia.
Depends on the time period under discussion. Going back to the early modern period, France has invaded Germany far more often than the reverse. France was the first of the major European states to achieve unification in something approximating its modern form, and the French threw their weight around for several hundred years. German unification came very late, but it changed the game; the simple fact is, there are a lot of German speaking people in the middle of Europe, they tend to work hard, and they tend to be competent. Everything else being equal, Germany is going to dominate Europe naturally. Germany doesn’t need a war to do this.
The Turk percentage of the German population isn’t remotely close to 20%. Its 5%.... maybe. A lot of people would be shocked to learn it because its completely incorrect.
Alright, they are going to break out the horses and carts one more time.
I would love to see Western Europe field enough conventional might to stave off Vlad the Invader--but the Euros have had to be brow-beaten by Trump to even make the modest increases that we have seen in the past 2 years.
And yes, in the long run, I agree with my fellow Freepers who think that Muslim migration is a more grave threat to Germany than the Russians.
Totally agree. Excellent Christian US ally that believes in their own national sovereignty.
Following her predecessor, Gerhard Schroder.
Seriously, Europe has been sitting on their asses, letting the USA protect them for over 50 years. NOW, they want to depend on the USA less? Did they find a new sugar daddy? Even if they were suddenly willing to spend the money, I sure as hell don’t see them building a self sufficient Army/Navy/Air Force in the next 20 years. At least they have a large supply of suicide bombers.
The EUSSR was founded on opposition to the USA. Be careful what you wish for.
sorry! my bad
How many Germans are in favor of increasing reliance on Allah?
Crz, you are about 10-20 years late in calling for the closing of US bases in Germany. By 2008, when I visited, every kaserne where I was stationed in the 3d Armored Division was closed, some for 10 years. After the end of the Cold War the US began withdrawing Army and Air Force units and reducing the overall size of the Army and Air Force. The Army was reduced by 6 divisions along with three corps headquarters and supporting units.
The Army currently has 2 brigades in Germany, one in Italy and a brigade+ in eastern Europe. Here are 2 sites that shows how it use to be for US Army Europe and is now:
http://www.thirdreichruins.com/
These germans do realise that if they want to take this stance, they would actually have to take military spending seriously and spend AT LEAST 2.5% of GDP on defence.
I guess I shouldve indicated that my post was sarcasm.
Germany doesn’t have the military spares or equipment to fight more than a small engagement or two. That won’t be changing any time soon.
Yeah they’d have to put massive money into the military and it doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen any time soon.
The U.S. has a military presence in Germany because it’s a good location from which to project power.
Nope. The U. S. has a military presence in Germany because they are an unreliable “ally” and need bucking up.
Germany was unable to deploy a single sub for months last year because the were too cheap to have spares on hand and to order them. They are intentionally under funding their military. It’s non functional, basically.
wow.
Well then they would be smart to shut their mouths before they wake up one day to find out Trump is sick of NATO.
Threats always seem far off and unrealistic.
Until they’re not.
It’s not just about ground troops. A large base like Ramstein/Landstuhl are symbolic. Closing it and moving operations to an ally pulling their weight like Poland would send a clear signal to other NATO members who look to Germany for leadership.
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