Posted on 12/19/2019 12:51:44 AM PST by NorseViking
Lol, so it's like being barely pregnant? You're an aggressor nation or not. Putin has invaded other countries. Period.
Most countries invaded other countries at one point. Russia is far from champion at that.
Then why are they in the Middle East, never mind the Crimea affair?
The Bible does not say in vain that leopards do not change their spots (from Jeremiah 13:23).
“” “” But to say this is purely a commercial decision over which the US should have no say is absurd, given NATO still exists.”” “”
How would you feel if Germany would sanction GM over auto-export to Mexico and Canada? They might say selling substandard vehicles to either nation is a crime against humanity and that they need to import Volkswagen instead.
That is exactly how it feels in Europe.
Crimea is a complex affair I agree but it made no sense for it to be a part of Ukraine. US foreign policy generally supports the right of people to self-determination and it is the cleanest example. Nobody would reasonably argue that the vast majority of Crimeans support Russian administration.
As for Middle East I don’t see Russia invaded anyone.
It was only part of the Ukraine because Khrushchev was trying to curry favor with the Ukrainians during the post-Stalin power struggle.
Yes, basically a Communist executive order on an issue requiring a referendum.
Which was nothing more than a symbolic gesture, since Moscow still called the shots.
Germany is involved in US defense against an attack from Mexico or Canada? I did not know that!
Look, trying to act as if NATO and what that means regarding German energy policy with Russia doesn’t have a part in this discussion is absurd. It’s a bigger discussion, obviously. You can’t treat this as a simple commercial transaction, which your cars analogy attempts to do.
Yep, more like a territorial issue between NYC and NJ.
Well Germany and US are both parts of NATO and Mexico isn’t.
If Mexico attacks US, Germany should help US.
But it’s a moot point. NATO is not an economic block and Russia is not attacking Germany.
NATO was established to counter Warsaw Pact which was a military organization more powerful than West European militaries.
Warsaw Pact is no more.
You say there is anti-Western propaganda in Russa but yourself are pushing the line as if Russia is an enemy and mulling hostile steps like interfering in legit trade.
Something is wrong about it.
So we can bring all the troops home from NATO?
How will be Poles feel about that? They love their history when you guys and the Russians get going.
Again, if NATO exists, you can’t treat this as a simple commercial transaction and the bigger issue of Whither NATO? must be addressed.
If the answer is Disband NATO, and it becomes a simple commercial transaction, then so be it. But it isn’t simple right now.
And there are plenty of examples of Russians being obnoxious out in the world. Fortunately they can’t afford much obnoxiousness right now.
Russians aren’t threatening Poland and Poland certainly doesn’t seem any threatened. And in terms of commercial relations Poland is an EU member first and a NATO member second.
Like it or not but the quality of life the Polish people enjoy is in large part the result of subsidies and development programs paid by German taxpayers. That and a million Polish workers employed in Germany and sending money back home.
And by the way you laughed at my Mexican example but as it is evident that Russia is not invading Germany or Poland you can’t say the same about Mexico vis-a-vis US.
Maybe if the socialist patron’s of said gas paid less but the State will take the savings for itself.
That’s funny. When it comes to paying for their Defense the Germans sure don’t think that’s a domestic issue. Uncle Sugar is expected to cough up the money and the troops to do so. Yet when it comes to building another massive pipeline to import yet more gas from the country we are supposed to be there to protect them against........
And let me add:
- they whine about Ambassador Grenell interfering with their politics yet think nothing of interfering in ours. Like for example when Merkel gave political speeches at some graduation ceremonies at Harvard a few months ago or like when they all collectively gobbled Obama’s knob.
- “international law” didn’t seem to count for much with them when they needed us to straighten out the mess in the Balkans without a permission slip from the UN. I guess “international law” is whatever the Yurps say it is.
- make us close our air base at Rammstein? Ha Ha Ha Ha! PLEASE do so. We’ll somehow manage to live with the “burden” of not providing for your defense. Do please try to convince your Turkish buddies to do the same in their country.
- speaking of selfish and greedy, how many years is it that you’ve been freeloading off of America to provide for your defense? You worthless Drueckeberger can’t even come close to keeping your promise to spend a paltry 2% of GDP on Defense.
- the US acting as the world’s police? It may have escaped your notice but Trump has been doing far LESS of that. Oh, and let’s not forget you Yurps are dead set against the US doing that......until things get nasty. Then you feiglinge turn and scream “YOU’VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING!!!!!” Across the Atlantic. We’ve seen it many times.
- everybody knows why you Germans want “more Europe”. Oh, you don’t openly say it like you used to, but everybody knows there’s an inner “Sieg Heil!” still within you. You have never gotten over the urge to try to boss everybody else around and you never will. It’s in your national character. Here’s a tip. Lots of your neighbors know that about you too and aren’t about to put themselves under your thumbs again.
- why do you do business with America? Hmmm, could it be because you run a large trade surplus geniuses? Cut that off. See who gets hurt worse.
- imperialism? You mean like when we sacrificed many of our people’s lives to bail you out of two world wars you started in the last century? Do you mean like when we lavished billions and billions of dollars in economic aid on you after you had destroyed yourselves in those wars? Do you mean like how we artificially pegged our currency to gold and allowed you to peg yours at a rate we’ll under it’s true value so as to stimulate your exports into our country and thus pump even more money into your economies? Do you mean like the unequal trade deals we gave you that once again boosted your exports to us while suppressing ours to you? Or do you mean like paying for your defense when the Russian Bear was menacing all of you threatening to pour through the Fulda Gap and impose communist tyranny on you for generations? Don’t imperialists usually take a lot more money out of a place than pump more money into it? Far from being “imperialists” America has been by far your greatest benefactor in history. Nobody else is even close.
- we’re never going to agree to surrender our national sovereignty to supposed “international law” (there is no such thing. There are treaties between sovereign states. That is all. Yes, I AM a lawyer). You might as well accept that. It’s not ever going to change.
- most of us no more care what you think of us than you care what we think of you.
- we do agree about one thing: those who believe in good friends across the Atlantic (at least on the western half of Europe) are indeed mistaken.
I am not the author of this piece.
Oh I know. Just responding to the typical German attitudes I’ve seen for 25+ years since I have German ancestors, speak the language and lived there twice as well as in Austria. Believe me I’ve heard their BS all before.
They haven’t heard the non Yurp loving/Leftist American perspective.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.