Posted on 08/04/2006 7:39:05 AM PDT by bobsunshine
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he would welcome German troops participating in an international force in southern Lebanon, according to a newspaper interview published Friday.
German officials have not ruled out contributing soldiers to a security force, but Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that "we as Germans should approach this region with the greatest caution."
Some have speculated over what would happen if German troops were forced into a position of conflict with Israeli soldiers, or if the weight of the Nazi-era past clouded the Germans' ability to make crucial split-second decisions.
Olmert said he told Merkel that Israel has "absolutely no problem with German soldiers in southern Lebanon."
"Why should German soldiers shoot at Israel? They would be part of the force protecting Israel," Olmert was quoted as saying in the interview with the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
"There is at the moment no nation that is behaving in a more friendly way toward Israel than Germany," he added. "If Germany can contribute to the security of the Israeli people, that would be a worthwhile task for your country. I would be very happy if Germany participated."
Berlin has avoided direct criticism of the Jewish state since fighting broke out last month, repeatedly underscoring its right to self-defense, and has called for a cease-fire "as quickly as possible" rather than immediately.
Merkel insists that Germany cannot consider a contribution until a UN mandate is in place. She also has pointed to the fact the German military is already stretched, with troops deployed from the Balkans to Afghanistan.
Still, Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung - a member of her conservative Christian Democrats - has suggested that if all sides were to ask for a contribution, then Germany would have to oblige.
Germany has been calling on Syria - a key supporter of the Lebanon-based Hizbullah - to play a constructive part in defusing the crisis.
"If Germany wants to talk to Syria, no one is going to stop Germany doing that," Olmert was quoted as saying. "But I harbor doubts about Syria's intentions."
"If Syria really wanted to take on a positive role, the country would have many possibilities," he added. "It has rejected them all."
''You cannot buy your way out of this burden''
Who should have to buy his way out of this burden?
The current population of Germany? The people born after the war? They bear no personal guilt. Guilt is neither collective nor transferable to future generation. Maybe you should have a look at your own code of justice.I bet it is based on this principle. I believe, its about time some hardcore German basher in Anglo-countries start to comprehend this.
''..burden they alone carry ..''
I don't carry a burden, because I have not done anything. But as a German I feel a historical responsibility in the light of the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany. Often mentioned : Each German government so far has acknowledged this and acted accordingly. But in the long run, it is easy to predict: the more you try to put pressure on future generations of Germans with this subject the less you will get!
Rommel was a brilliant commander and an honorable man. Too bad He had the worst boss!
"What I cannot stand are the people generously allowing us to make something good or demanding that we do something to deminish our guilt. There's been a lot of this "cash in the holocaust" talk."
Ah yes, those Jews, they only think of money. How little things do change in your part of the world.
"Whenever there's military aid to israel involved some israeli smart a. turns up and allowes us to make something good because of the holocaust. Hard not to puke in this case.
I don't want to make something good for my grandfathers neighbour - and god knows I don't have to."
If you cannot feel guilty for any evil action, however vile, the German nation has committed in the past, then logically you have no right to be proud of anything Germany has achieved. You did not build the gas chambers or vote for Hilter. On the other hand, you also did not write that piece of music, build that car or camera or put that ball in the back of the net. If you do not feel guilt for the Holocaust, you have no right to feel anger or sadness for the victims at Dresden.
The reason why you must feel responsibilty for Germany's crimes is because if you don't somewhere down the line Germany will repeat the same mistakes. The Holocaust was not some historical aberration but was a result of something deeply flawed in German culture, something that was recognised by Heine long before the rise of the Nazis.
I have mixed feelings about accepting German money. Yes, no amount of money can possibly compensate for what Germany did - the theft of Jewish property, the destruction of an ancient culture, calculated genocide, the murder of 1.5 million children. However, the notion that Germany can buy a clean reputation by giving money to Jews is, in my opinion, really quite sickening.
I'm sorry, but I believe it was a huge mistake to have allowed Germany to have risen again after the war. I am angry beyond belief at those many naive Jews who believe they can ever be safe in Germany. I am utterly livid at Olmert who has screwed up the war effort from start to finish and is now bending his knee before the German nation with such ridiculous statements. And to be frank, I am completely chilled by your comments which are so reminiscent of statements by other Germans all those decades ago.
My first thought too. No Israeli PM should ever think this way and the public wouldn't stand for such thinking.
I have contempt for Olmert but this is so over the line I'll choose to believe something was lost in the translation and he meant something different.
"Rommel was a brilliant commander and an honorable man."
While he was fighting for Germany and prolonging the war, my people were being murdered by other Germans in gas chambers. That was the price my people paid for his brilliance.
I see. So Rommel is guilty of crimes against humanity simply for being a part of Germany's war machine.
The French will be there. They still believe they own Lebanon, and Haiti, and all their old colonies the they could not hold onto. France is colonialist, but also weak and delusional. It does not matter. Neither the current French nor German soldiers can solve the problem, neither the training or will to fight, they will just stand and watch as HezbAllah rearms.
Alright. I´m a Rommel fan, because he fought bravely and fair although for an evil regime. And my Grandpa was in Rommel´s staff... thus my anger. Hope, I wasn´t too harsh.
I don't know. Are you?
Thanks.
I knew that the old West German army was much bigger than the current Bundeswehr is, but didn't know how much. I also knew that in the Cold War, most of the long range transport and logistics was to be handled by the US and UK.
So were my people (I am of German descent). Many of my Grandfather's first cousins died because they had a big problem keeping their mouths shut. More than a few died when the Russians came.
Growing up, I couldn't understand how the country that my great grandfather came from went so nuts. Then I found out that he left before the unification, and left because there was a fear that the new government would not be good. Looks like he and his brother guessed right. But most of Europe was just as nuts. Fascism in general was looked as a very viable form of ideology until after 1939. For one thing, it gave you a lot of scapegoats.
There was a book called "America's Real War" by a rabbi (whose name I have forgotten unfortunately) that talked about that. He grew up in the UK during WWII, and said that what happened in Germany and Russia could have just as easily have happened in the UK or France.
Also, many people didn't want to really admit what was going on. While Germany was winning the war, they preferred to believe that it was to bring about a United States of Europe, and to confront Communism. Looking back at those like Bonhoeffer who saw the evil and tried to stop it, it is apparent that most really didn't want to admit what was going on. It was easier just to pretend to not notice your old neighbor down the road is gone. In some ways, the West as a whole is still doing that. CNN, MSNBC, etc all want to cry foul that Israel is accidentally killing civilians, while ignoring that hezbolah is TARGETING civilians. Because if they admitted what is really going on, they would be forced to do something. And most people would rather pretend evil doesn't exist than confront it.
The French are on the side of Iran and Syria
LOL
I realize that. However, the Nazi era endured 12 years, and we´re in the 62nd year after it ended.
So many Kasernen have been renamed in the last years (not decades, years!) because some Leftists believe that Wehrmacht soldiers were all evil. I´m glad that we still have some "idols", and Rommel surely is one of them. It´s not that we put his pictures in our offices ;-), but we´ve streets in Kasernen and one Kaserne still named after him.
His son would have made his father proud. He was a great mayor for Stuttgart.
B) You're right with this money thing. We Germans also all know it won't work like this. Still, the payments go on. It's just another thing in German-Israeli relations that makes everyone feel awkward.
C) An old Jew waits on the train station of a small German town. After hesitating for some time, he asks one of the other travellers: "What do you think of the Jews?" The traveller responds: "I am a big admirer of the Jewish people." The old jew nods, walks a bit and asks another traveller the same question. He responds: "I am fascinated by the archievements of our Jewish fellow men in culture and science." The Jew thanks for the answer and goes to a third man. That one responds to the question: "I don't especially like the Jews and I'm happy not to be involved with them." The Jew says: "You're an honest person. Could you please watch my luggage, I need to go to the toilet."
I sense a touch of anger on your part skraut. First of all I am not a 'german basher'. If what I say offends you. Call someone who cares!
No doubt one who just wants to 'move along, nothing here to see' type! History has consequences. You are correct in that you as a german and no doubt all who were born after the fact and including those germans who faught against the cancer of nazism are not responsible for what happened. Just like slavery is not the responsibility of those that came along generations later. The issue is not if the german people have exercised this demon but if the world has finally turned the page and forgiven the german people for crimes that were committed on countless. The verdict is still out.
Fascism masquarades under the veneer of victimhood. Hitler got a lot of mileage as a result. Islamofascism will no doubt act from the same script.
"But in the long run, it is easy to predict: the more you try to put pressure on future generations of Germans with this subject the less you will get!"
Pressure? What pressure? Germans have rebuilt their society because there was half a million foreign soldiers stationed on german soil for the last 60 yrs. When was the last time germans fought for freedom and democracy anywhere? When? So if this is what you mean by giving, hell man don't worry we won't ask!
Anyhow Europe will be an Islamo wasteland in 50 yrs. Want to bet this whole fascism bit gets played out again in Europe? The smart money says yes. Sorry Skraut. like I said before, history has consequences!!
Well, the phillippines was colonised by the united states in the early 20th century, but Americans shed blood there during WWII.
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