[Eurotwit]

DPA The US attacked Iraq against world opinion. But it might have been the right move.

AFP US President Bush has pursued his agenda of gun-boat democracy with single-mindedness.

The Buchenwald concentration camp after its liberation by the US army. Democracy was brought to Germany at the tip of the sword.

REUTERS Lebanese took to the streets in thousands earlier this week. A sign of things to come?

[pissant]

Good article. But mistreating enemy combatants that do not fall under any conventions, Geneva or otherwise, does no make for a "war crime". Nor does a small group of soldiers going beyond the rules of warfare taint the enterprise.

[Ragnorak]

The United States itself is a democratic republic born of violence... based on principles of individual rights (Magna Carta, Glorious Revolution) carried from Britain that were rights won through violence...

[Lorianne]

Another recent one from Der Speigel:

Could George W. Bush Be Right?

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,343378,00.html

[cripplecreek]

"Democracy being born out of violence"


It appears that democracy is almost always born out of violence. That doesn't make it a bad thing.

[squirt-gun]

Gunboat diplomacy? What a pathetic and inappropriate title!!!

There seems to be no mention of the literally thousands of innocent American citizens who have been murdered, beheaded, tortured, or just plain executed by the Muslim world over the past ten years.

A pox on Old Europe and its self centered, self destructive socialism.

[untenured]

I'm flabbergasted by an article like this coming out of an important German paper. What kind of paper is Der Spiegel, and what kind of Germans read it?

[Captain Rhino]

"Infected with the virus of democracy." I like it!!

[longtermmemmory]

Virus of Democracy?

This german magazine is really socialist.

These germans would prefer the impotence of Jimmy Carter or the incompetence of Bill Clinton.

This same article could substitue Reagan for Bush and not be any different.

It also ASSUMES war crimes by the USA. Very Goebles by bootstrapping the propaganda upon falsehood. Goebles lives in germany again.

[theotherWayne]

When you "walk the walk" those that always "talk the talk" just can't stand to admit they could possibly could be wrong without quantify and qualify your success. Have heart, maybe if this is the beginning of a big shift in opinion in Germany. They may actually start to help us in Iraq. Irag and the US could use some "good" payback from the Germans.

[ops33]

If the Germans and the French are any example, we will know that we have really succeeded in bringing freedom to Iraq when 40 or 50 years from now the Iraqi's no longer appreciate what we did for them.

[conservativecorner]

It's hard for the Germans to understand trying to help the oppressed people of the world because it's the right thing to do rather than trying to conquer the world which is their track record.

[Luke]

Germany has proved itself to be just as reliable as France when it comes to fighting tyranny of dictators. We saved both their butts and rebuilt Germany to the point where they can now stand among civilized nations and critize us. We know who our friends are - Germany/France ain't.

[xone]

'205th brigade of the military secret service'

The author just can't admit that Iraq was a all-around good deal for humanity.

[Tallguy]

Even when they are re-assessing the War in Iraq, this column succeeds in taking a few swipes at the US. Oh well, I suppose we should be glad they've come this far...

[Tallguy]

I wonder if the Germans, French, Belgians, et. al. realize the extent to which they are handing over their democracies to a bunch of Eurocrats who don't really seem to be accountable to anybody?

[telebob]

It appears that the Europeans are having some sort of internal catharsis. On the one hand, they are face to face with a positive changing reality from Bush's actions in the ME.

These changes cannot be denied but they must be synthesized to accommodate the accusations of the Euro left. So we see the insistence that war crimes were committed and that the war was folly and an outrage on the one hand and a grudging admission that the obvious good that has come from it should not be embraced and encouraged.

Give it a few months and the Euros will come to see themselves as having been in the trenches with us along.

[Alex Marko]

"The people of Iraq countered this horror with hope. This pairing -- war crimes with liberation -- is not completely new: When the 7th Army of U.S. General George Patton landed in Sicily in July 1943, his men killed 150 Italian soldiers and 50 Germans -- after they had already surrendered. It was a war crime, even at that time. "

No its not, there is a grey area in geneva conventions on this. But it is legal to execute any man aged15-55 captured on the battle field.

[Jim Noble]

The US is guilty of war crimes in Iraq and Guantanamo. It's not the first time. The US also committed war crimes in World War II.

We should be willing to hear from the Germans about war crimes in, oh, about 4500 AD...

They defined the genre for all time, as far as I'm concerned.

[Dark Fired Tobacco]

George W. Bush -- and he should know -- once compared Germany's abstinence in the Iraq war with a reformed alcoholic: even one glass of beer is too much.

Now the Germans are lecturing us on beer?

[Psycho_Bunny]

Until Germany can prove itself capable of going at least 100 years without stuffing Jews in ovens, I simply don't care what they have to say about any form of politics.