Posted on 03/02/2005 5:50:30 PM PST by longjack
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DEBATTE Terminator? Demokrator! By Claus Christian Malzahn Iraq, the Palestinian areas, Lebanon: The virus of democracy is rife in the Middle East. German foreign policy must finally react to this pleasant turn of events and look the fact in the eye that liberty and democracy sometimes are brought with fire and sword.
The weapons of mass destruction, which presumably threatened the world, were never found - but mass graves instead. In January the Iraqis voted against terror. It hasn't been stopped yet. The supporters of the terrorist leader Sarkawi follow a gloomy, religiously fueled promise of fortune. Death is the climax of life for them. Only death will stop them. But the Iraqi voters have attained something else: The virus of democracy, that Sarkawi and associates are so afraid of, is rife in the Middle East. In February in Saudi Arabia there were local elections - a ridiculous event from a western point of view - but for the residents an important limbering up exercise in the area of freedom of speech. Until now only men are allowed to vote there - but the Saudi Arabian Secretary of State Prince Saud just promised in a "Time" magazine interview, that this shall change soon: Women are more sensible voters than men anyway. Completely new tones from Riad. Wake Up call for the Lebanese People
What is happening in Lebanon is just as astonishing. Millions of people are winning political self-confidence despite occupation and fresh memories of a bloody civil war. Whoever was behind the terrorist attack on the former governor - he will have hardly had a wake up call for the Lebanese people in mind. It is still too early to compare these developments with the "orange revolution" in the Ukraine. But, to be sure, a sign of the hope are the young people, who with waving flags, want to take possession of their country. We only can surmise where the journey will end up in Lebanon. The Syrians will have to leave the mistreated country - now or later. Perhaps the virus of democracy and freedom of speech will spread from Beirut to Damascus, perhaps it will take over Amman and Teheran soon. We Europeans should not be afraid of this process but should support it according to our ability. For far to long the nature of German foreign policy in the Middle East has been to leave everything just like it was. ""Critical Dialog" with Teheran sounded terrific - and it wasn't harming anyone. Blood for oil in the Iraq war? A Given. But, let's take the USA out of the game and look at the export volume of the Federal Republic to the country of the mullahs: 2.7 billion Euros annually. What we call peace, others would describe as a cold, deadly silence. We negotiate with people who like to force their people into the corset of the Koran. For whomever it gets to tight, they are locked away, tortured, chased out of the country or killed.
German Incense Stick Politics
Against this iconography of horror, sometimes emphasized more in the west than in the Middle East, the people In Iraq simply place their hopes. The duality of war crimes and liberation has also happened before. When U.S. General George Patton landed on Sicily with the 7th U.S. army in July 1943, 150 Italian soldiers and 50 Germans who had already given up were murdered: a war crime even in those times. In April 1945 Patton's soldiers liberated the concentration camp Buchenwald. What the soldiers saw on the Ettersberg near Weimar knocked the wind out of them: Mountains of corpses, living skeletons, the dying didn't stop for weeks after the liberation, either. Even the birds fled before the crimes of the Nazis. They only returned when the crematorium stopped pumping its sickly sweet death clouds into the sky.
On the next day George Patton signed up one thousand Weimar residents to do clearing up work in the concentration camp. From every household someone had to go up to the Ettersberg and attest to the horrors of the Nazis. They called this action "Viewing The Atrocities" a necessary "shock-and awe" pedagogy for a folk who had believed in the Führer, the wonder weapons and Santa Claus until the end. "Viewing The Atrocities" was one of the first measures for the re-education of the Germans, ordered by a general who had violated the Geneva Convention brutally on Sicily But who wants to deny that the man who liberated It would be better for Iraq if the US-Army stays a while longer - and that it won't disappear again as fast as it did back then in Weimar: So that the virus of democracy can still can spread unhindered as long as possible. |
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"Spiegel-Online....Terminator? Demokrator!
Translated by longjack
I did this last from him week:
"Free Republic"....Bush in Germany - Déjà-vu in Mainz - A Reagan Comparison
Only to find out later the "Spiegel" ran it in English on there international site:
"Spiegel-Online"....Could George W. Bush Be Right?
FreeRepublic had another thread on last weeks English article here:
Today's article has some thorny points for me, but all in all I thought it was great. Maybe "Spiegel" will post it again in English, but what the heck, it was fun to translate.
Does anyone know about the Patton in Sicily claim? I would like to know if there are other views on that.
Thanks,
longjack
longjack
I suppose we should be thankful that some small rays of light are beginning to break through the clouds of cognitive dissonance that have enveloped Europe since 9/11, but it really irks me when I hear these pompous European pieholes say that the war was started for the wrong reasons. In point of fact, there were a whole host of reasons for why we went to war -- including the fact that Hussein had quite literally already declared war on us in both word and deed. But the Europeans, being the ultimate narcissists, only focused on the one justification which threatened to impact them, i.e. the WMDs. The Europeans could have cared less that Hussein was routinely firing missiles at our pilots in the leadup to the war. Likewise, the Europeans could have cared less that Hussein and his sons had turned Iraq quite literally into a slaughterhouse. Instead, the only thing the Europeans focused on was whether there were WMDs that could potentially be used against them. They didn't care and still don't care about the many other justifications which Bush presented for going to war against Hussein -- which is why they never acknowledge these other justifications when they discuss the war. So shame on the Europeans for (once again) being unable to look themselves in the mirror and acknowledge that in their heart of hearts they hold very little dear except for themselves.
Thanks for the ping.
This is an excellent article.
The German politicians could really learn something from it.
I think though it is wishful thinking on my part.
OTOH, I was very surprised at how hard the author hits the German attitude towards the Nazis, since there seems to be more of a trend for Germans to portray themselves as victims .
This magazine / site is generally more opposed to Bush, so the fact that articles by this author have shown up recently are a pleasant surprise.
The current government is reeling from scandal and poor economic figures. It appears that there are chinks in the Scroeder ability to get the media to play to his beat.
longjack
Great article. Even if the German politicians don't learn anything from it, maybe the German PEOPLE will. IMHO, that is much more important. Politicians can be voted out of office.
But, let's take the USA out of the game and look at the export volume of the Federal Republic to the country of the mullahs: 2.7 billion Euros annually. What we call peace, others would describe as a cold, deadly silence.
Hard words coupled with the allusion to the Camps.
Der Spiegel?
Great article, except for this bit:
George W. Bush started a war against Iraq two years ago for the wrong reasons. There were good reasons to protest it. Now it seems that from this wrong war a real freedom of speech and democracy have emerged.
I will not grant them even this fig leaf.
The "wrong reasons" argument is a lie and this author, and any thinking person, knows it. That rationalization is the same crap the Germans used to justify supporting Hitler 70 years ago in his rise to power.
Good must fight evil. Saddam was evil.
What, pray tell, is Germany today?
It's good that they have an open mind with respect to what is happening now - which is more than can be said for many of our leftists. However, it still annoys the hell out of me when the Europeans say that the war was only fought on the WMD issue. All that is is the Europeans projecting on to Bush the single justification for the war that the Europeans were concerned about. They were just deaf, dumb and blind when it came to all of the other justifications that Bush put forth for the war.
longjack
When I read the papers over there during the OIF buildup the WMD wasn't really an issue, because most people thought Iraq had WMD.
The argument pushed on the people was that the war was illegal. Fischer, the Secretary of State, was president of the UN security council (?) for the month of February that year.
The Germans have the term Profil Neurotiker, which means you want to be seen, heard and talked about as much as possible. Fischer and Schroeder are the prototypes.
What was pushed on the Germans was that these guys were 'Players' on the world stage, puffing up their importance and creating the impression in the German populace that their 'boys' were pulling the strings, and could pee on America's tires anytime they wanted to.
The WMD issue came out after the WMD weren't found. The original predictions of 'quagmire' , 'is it Vietnam yet', 'months/years and tens of thousands of body bags' to take Bagdhad, etc., didn't pan out, so they went with the WMD.
I was surprised the author wrote the wrong war / WMD sentance, because his article last week comparing Bush and Reagan was very Pro-Bush. I almost didn't translate this article because of that. His article last week is linked at post #1.
My 2 cents.
longjack
I hope things get better, too.
Schroeder et al are reeling. Bad unemployment and poverty figures, the Visa affair and Fischer's throwing his underlings to the wolves are having their toll.
CDU is now 42% to CSU 32%. Greens have hit a plateau at 8%. FDP is 7%, so right now Schwarz-Gelb is sitting at 49%.
The SSW in Schleswig-Holstein is hurting the CSU there. They'll tolerate the minority CSU / Greens for school reform. School reform = keine noten mehr , kein sitzenbleiben mehr. Forget the fact that unemployment is 12.5% in S-H, they're going to reform the schools.
That won't fly in most of Germany.
Merkel is looking stronger and stronger. I'm beginning to be more optimistic that Gerhard and Joschka are history.
longjack
I know,it sometimes gets me depressed to read bad news about Germany.
I am sure it does. But have faith, things will get better. Who would have thought a few weeks ago that an article like this would have been written? Things are already getting better.
I have faith that it will get better and I know that it takes time,but I fear for my family that I left behind in Germany.
It,s not easy when you hear you brother saying that he is worried about losing his job and my parents telling me how their business is not going well and how much taxes they all have to pay.
My parents are to old to leave everything behind and move some place else and my brother had the chance to come to the US,but didn't because he didn't want to leave my parents alone.
I have been in the US for 15 years and miss my family,but not the current on goings in Germany.
I am so sorry to hear about your family. I know it must be difficult to be so far away from them and not be able to do anything to help. It must be very frustrating to know that they could have a better life here if they could only get here. We will just have to pray that things will improve there soon. Your parents and you are very fortunate that your brother is able to stay there with them.
I know,they are fortunate.
My brother staying there eased their grief of losing their first born Grandson.
My husband got stationed in Colorado shortly after our son was born,I stayed behind for about two month,so he could find a nice place for us to live.
It was hard for my parents to see us leave,but we visit them every other year and they had the pleasure of having my son around for 2 years while my hubby was in Korea.
My kids have a very strong bond with their Grandparents in Germany despite the distance.
It is good that your children can have a close relationship with your parents. They must love going to Germany. I know it must be very hard for you having to wait for two years to see your parents. It would be for me. My father has passed away now, but my mother lives only 45 minutes away. When my children were small, we did not see them that often as my father was transferred a lot in his job.
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