Posted on 08/15/2005 4:57:16 AM PDT by hildy123
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has warned the US to back away from the possibility of military action against Iran over its nuclear programme. His comments come a day after President Bush reiterated that force remained an option but only as a last resort.
Iran has resumed what it says is a civilian nuclear research programme but which the West fears could be used to develop nuclear arms.
Germany, France and the UK have led efforts to end the crisis peacefully.
Let's take the military option off the table. We have seen it doesn't work
Gerhard Schroeder
Schroeder launches poll bid Mr Schroeder's rejection of force came at the official launch of his party's election campaign.
The BBC's Ray Furlong - reporting from Hanover - says there was an echo of his last election campaign three years ago, when his steadfast opposition to the use of force against Iraq helped get him re-elected.
Applause
Mr Schroeder directly challenged Mr Bush's comment that "all options are on the table" over the Iran crisis.
"Let's take the military option off the table. We have seen it doesn't work," Mr Schroeder told Social Democrats at the rally in Hanover, to rapturous applause from the crowd.
Mr Schroeder said it remained important that Iran did not gain atomic weapons, and a strong negotiating position was important.
"The Europeans and the Americans are united in this goal," he said. "Up to now we were also united in the way to pursue this."
Schroeder wants military action "off the table"
Mr Schroeder reiterates his views in an interview to be published Sunday in the German weekly Bild am Sonntag, labelling military action "extremely dangerous".
"This is why I can with certainty exclude any participation by the German government under my direction," Mr Schroeder tells the paper.
Mr Schroeder was among Europe's sternest critics of the Iraq war, causing a bitter rift with the US which poisoned relations between the two countries.
His opposition, in tandem with that President Jacques Chirac's France, led to US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld's stinging attack on "old Europe".
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE Mined uranium ore is purified and reconstituted into solid form known as yellowcake Yellowcake is converted into a gas by heating it to about 64C (147F) Gas is fed through centrifuges, where its isotopes separate and process is repeated until uranium is enriched Low-level enriched uranium is used for nuclear fuel Highly enriched uranium can be used in nuclear weapons
In depth: Nuclear fuel cycle Iran's press defiant
The UN's atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, backed a resolution this week expressing "serious concern" at the resumption of the nuclear programme, and demanding it be halted again at once.
Mr Bush's comments about the military option came in an interview on Israeli TV.
The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says the president wants to send a clear warning to Tehran, although in reality the US already has its hands full in neighbouring Iraq.
Mr Schroeder is lagging well behind his conservative rivals in the German election campaign, but has been narrowing the gap in recent days.
In the 2002 poll, he came from behind to snatch victory after anti-Iraq war feeling - and an outbreak of serious flooding in Germany - helped him attract last-minute support.
He's just surrendering before terrorists interfere in German elections.
""Let's take the military option off the table. We have seen it doesn't work," Mr Schroeder told Social Democrats at the rally in Hanover"
- Is this guy retarded?
It's time the U.S. shuts down (aka; 'relocates') all military related bases in Germany and put them into U.S.-friendly countries elsewhere in Europe.
I believe Poland has expressed a willingness to accept our bases on their soil.
As a result of the Oil for Food scam, we can see already we can't trust France or Germany in this matter.
We are not going to take the military option off the table, so what's he going to do about it?
If Iran is not a threat, then why are Germany and France trying to get them to stop working on their nuclear reactors?
Oh, the horror of it all.
yep
It also sounds like Germany is even closer to Irans nuke program than we had previously thought. The Germans don't want us finding all of Irans nuke stuff labeled "Made In Germany".
Germany isnt important enough to have an opinion.
Of course Schroeder is saying this. He and his fellow countrymen have a LOT of money and contracts tied into arming Iran and helping them go nuclear in the same way these European buffoons tried to protect Saddam and that little oil for food scam!
Gerhard Schroeder is an insignificant, little man running for his political last train. Displays a subtle hint of Jimmy Carter courage.
Time for Schroeder to eat some "bad" scnitzel
As I said on the other thread, Germany is a deeply pacifist country at heart - not surprisingly, after starting and losing two world wars. Even re-enactors are deeply mistrusted here. So the fact that Schröder and Fischer were actually able to send troops to Kosovo and Afghanistan was nothing short of astounding for anyone familiar with its recent history.
There is NO chance of any support for or participation in military action against Iran. I don't believe a future Chancellor Merkel would change that, unless such action is UN-approved, and maybe not even then. I doubt also that any other European country (except perhaps the UK reluctantly) will help the US.
In any case, military action against Iran would be extremely foolish, as the President doubtless knows. I'm sure this is just a bit of bluffing, as he surely knows that Iran itself could fight back hard, and most Islamic countries would side with them too. The Shia in Iraq would surely rise against US troops, putting an end to any chance of a good outcome there, and any pro-US sentiment in Iran will be extinguished. Terrorism would soar. The Iranians could disrupt oil supplies enough to severely hurt or even crash the western economies. And China would also not be best pleased if its oil supply is disrupted. If world opinion starts to perceive the USA as a loose cannon or rogue state that has to be stopped at any cost, there's no telling what might happen. I simply can't believe the US will be so reckless as to risk all that. It's just playing into the hands of Bin-Laden (who despises the Iranians as heretics) and his crazy apocalyse theories.
This looks more and more like the way things were going before the US went into Iraq in 2003.
I agree with this; there's not much need for US troops in Germany any more. That said, the left too have been calling for this for years, while the conservatives want to keep them. In some towns(i.e Darmstadt) the authorities are already looking forward to redeveloping the land, and the vacated housing will also boost the local economy. About 950 workers will be lost, of which 700 are Americans. The fact is, the American troops and their dependents aren't all that significant; their dollar-fixed purchasing power keeps most of them on the base or makes them thrifty off-base. It's only in a few towns and villages completely dominated by the military that any impact will be felt: they'll lament a bit at losing their friends (they're usually very pro-US in these locations) and then make do and move on. For that matter, the German government too has been closing Bundeswehr bases, it's no big deal here.
I think Poland would suit you fine. Cheaper, although not so good an infrastructure and Poland's not world-famous for good beer and food. But there are worse places!
Obviously mister Schroeder hope the shelter of iranian's nuclear weapons?!?!
He hope so to avoid terrorist's strikes in germany!But it's not enough mister SCHROEDER !He will have soon to do more to be a good partner/fellow for BenLaden and hese dogs....
Certainly mister Schroeder(the fellow in shame of mister Chirac)doesn't understand anything in diplomacy which must keep all options on the table including military option.
Coward and stupid in the same time its hard!
Multilateralism is non-sense!
USA go ahead
The Grand Mufti Salutes Nazi Troops
The Grand Mufti w/ Hitler (1941)
Grand Mufti inspects his Moslem Nazi troops (1943)
Yes, those Fezzes had SS insignia
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