Posted on 08/23/2008 10:59:34 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Gerhard Schroeder under fire after blaming Georgia for 'detonating' war with Russia
Germany's former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has been told he should "keep his mouth shut" after appearing to support Russia's invasion of Georgia.
By Tony Paterson in Berlin
Last Updated: 11:54PM BST 23 Aug 2008
The 64-year-old Social Democrat already has a reputation as a Kremlin apologist and was widely criticised for taking a £200,000 a year job with the Russian energy company Gazprom after he left office in 2005.
Not only is he friends with the Russian premier and former president Vladimir Putin - whom he has referred as a "flawless democrat" - but he gives frequent lectures defending Moscow's interests.
Last week, however, Mr Schroeder went a step further. In an interview with the news magazine Der Spiegel he insisted that Georgia had "detonated" the war in the Caucasus by invading South Ossetia.
He went on to brand the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili "a gambler" and implied that Russia's invasion was justified because Georgia had American military advisers in the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
/snip
Mr Schroeder also holds consultant posts with the Rothschild banking group, the Swiss publishing house Ringier, and has a speaking job with the New York-based Harry Walker agency. Mr Schreoder is reputed to charge $60,000 per speech.
The guy really gets around. On the payroll of Russians and international bankers.
Back in 70's, he served as a lawyer for murderous German left-wing terrorist group, Baader-Meinhoff terrorist gangs. He was their ardent supporter.
sorry, you missed your chance. Obama already picked Biden for VP.
L
Boy those European socialist sure can pick a good chancellor when they want to, can’t they?
There’s a Paulie Walnuts joke, which decency forbids on this family forum.
Schroeder of Germany, Martin of Canada, and Chirac of France were all against the Iraq War, campaigned against President Bush, and all have been replaced.
LOL, for that matter, you can say the same thing about Saddam Hussein!
Schroeder and Chirac have done incalculable damage to Western European politics and the safety of the freeworld.
Both of those corrupt clowns should be locked up.
The guy’s entire talent was making speeches. But after getting into office...he was a lousy individual and numerous members of his own party hated him.
The most remarkable moment occurred at the end of his chancellorship...when the election results were announced and the opposition barely edged him out...it was a half-point or so. To form a government, you must have several parties united under one banner. Schroeder figured that even though he lost....he could get the Greens and the FDP to slide under him, thus giving him the 50 percent he needed, and still beat the CDU.
So here at 10pm that night of the election....is this roundtable and the media control guru is asking various questions over scenarios and Schroeder quickly pointed out how he was going to reemerge as the winner under this potential Green/FDP banner. The FDP leader, Guidi Westervolle sat there....giving a ever-so-brief pause....and then said “the last thing on earth that the FDP would ever do...is partner with Schroeder”. The camera caught this bull with his horns down and ready to tear up Schroeder. Because of that moment...the FDP has picked up thousands of more supporters and found itself as the only party in Germany with guts.
Schroeder ist ein arshloc.
This is just like 1939 with the Russians and the Germans blaming the victim for forcing them to invade.
So the Georgians didn’t initiate a major military offensive against heavily populated Tskhinvali in the early morning of August 8th hours after Gerogia president Saakashvili gave both the Russians and the S. Ossetians assurances they wouldn’t?
Who bombed the Tskhinvali hospital and burned down the University then, pixies?
Another great German giving us advice.
The irony is, that while he was weakening Germany's position within the Middle East, NATO, and UN. While under his tenure Germany saw the worst economic times since WWII. While he threw his own people under the bus with pipeline deals to the Russians and while the Bundeswehr was regressing into something more like the Boy-scouts (social experiments, lack of funding, numerous reorganizations to the point where things were out of control, downsizing to the point where they can't uphold their NATO contract and their divisions only exist on paper......) While he sabotaged an effort in Iraq, throwing those people under the bus as well, was willing play with the security issues of allies, to destabilize the entire Middle East........ and did as little as possible in Afghanistan after he of course politically capitalized by standing on our side after 911 and talking of “Uneingeschraenkte Solidaritaet,” many in Germany to this day see him as some great fearless leader who stood against the US.
Schroeder was a master when it came to political opportunism, speeches, and sinking stooping to any level to win. In the end, he didn't serve his own country well either. He was the type of leader that signed Kyoto (A great photo opportunity), was against missile defense (at the time in 2000 that was really popularistic thinking. of course now even most Germans see it differently but they of course can't remember their own words 8 years ago)........ He pandered, and he seized political opportunities, as in 2002 during the run up for the Iraq war and German elections where he seized this war as his opportunity to turn the elections to his favor by jumping on the antiwar bandwagon.
You have to imagine this! A war that was a non-issue since the Germans neither paid for the 11 years of containment nor would be part of any invasion force and are at large a minor players in the Middle East (in the macro); he took Iraq and pushed it into the election forefront the media of course jumped all over it. He gave speeches, he gave interviews, and he talked and talked about this war. While Germany had 12.7% unemployment at one point under his reign, while crime surged, R&D budgets were falling, social services decaying, Germany's education system was loosing it's once great reputation...... he more or less managed to get reelected by beating the anti-American and antiwar drum and going against a war Germany had no stake in.
This was the basic message, and it was ingenious:
- Cater to the left, the SPD/Greens with the idea of being against war, against the US which is only going to war for oil of course. (The pacifist / anti-imperialism angle)
- Cater to the right FDP/CDU with the idea that Germany is standing up to the US and pathing its own way. That Germany is a powerful nation and self determining. (The sovereignty / national pride angle) Schroeder spoke of “Der Deutsche Weg”
Believe it or not, Schroeder actually did get traction even among those who call themselves conservatives in Germany. The German golden Chancellor knew how squeeze political capital out of the issue and since no issue was taboo, that's exactly what he did regardless of any consequences, regardless of the damage he did in the process to save his political power.
Think about this, he was a driving force behind why Turkey might be a future EU member. That was Germany's counteroffer and why Turkey didn't take our offer which they had already done but backed out of when he they support for EU membership on the table. With threats and intimidation, other EU nations were to be intimidated not to go along with the US. That went over well./sarc Germany a temporary UNSC member in 2002 want’s permanent membership, that didn't happen. US forces in Europe were realigned out of Germany mostly. Germany's influence in NATO wained. Germany's influence in the Middle East on which she is dependent for oil, is less. Did they really help the Iraqi's? Did they help their Allie the US? Did they help Middle East stability?................
In Germany some are just now, to at least a small degree, coming to grips with the reality of what he was really about.
And Schroeder was most forceful and ridiculous in his assertions about President Bush pre and post 9-11. But when America began pulling bases out of Germany, post 9-11, Schroeder whined like a stuck pig. Why? Oh My... those bases had provided economies for the locals. Now, his German economy was going into the tank. His response? To call President Bush bad names.
U.S. presidential debate viewed warily in Mideast, 10/02/04
http://www.bakersfield.com/24hour/world/story/1702500p-9498531c.html
Germans could not help noticing that Kerry's stand on the Iraq war and his opposition to unilateral attacks is closer to Berlin's stance, Gernot Erler, a senior lawmaker with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats, told n-tv television.
In France, results of a pre-debate poll said nearly 90 percent of French favor Kerry, and one analyst said the reasons why are obvious.
"We are in a logic of 'Anything but Bush,'" Andre Kaspi, an expert on the United States at Paris' Sorbonne University, told the daily newspaper La Croix.
Ah, the Soviets, er, Russians. Always the worlds wonder for liberty, freedom and prosperity.
Only if pixies is a code word for Russian invaders. I'd suggest you peddle your BS elsewhere, but, if want any takers, that would pretty much limit your sales area to Russia itself. The whole rest of the world just ain't buying it.
"We resemble that remark."
from Wikipedia....
Schröder has been married four times, to:
* Eva Schubach, married 1968, divorced 1972
* Anne Taschenmacher, married 1972, divorced 1984
* Hiltrud Hampel, aka Hillu, married 1984, divorced 1997
* Doris Köpf, married 1997
Schröder’s four marriages have earned him the nickname “Audi Man,” a reference to the 4-ring symbol of Audi motorcars. Another nickname is “The Lord of the Rings”.[7][8]
Schröder identifies himself as a Protestant, but does not appear to be religious. He did not add the optional phrase “So wahr mir Gott helfe” formula (so help me God) when sworn in as chancellor for his first term in 1998.[10]
Democrat Tom Lantos, chairman of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs and holocaust survivor, likened Schröder to a “political prostitute” for his recent behaviour. [15]
[edit] Freedom of the press
In April 2002 Schröder sued the DDP press agency for publishing an opinion of PR consultant Sabine Schwind saying that he “would be more credible if he didn’t dye his gray hair.” Soon the court decided to ban the media from suggesting that he colors his hair. [16]
During a heated dispute between Russia and Estonia in May 2007 over the removal of a Soviet-era war memorial from the centre of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, to a military cemetery Schröder defended the Kremlin’s reaction. He remarked that Estonia had contradicted “every form of civilised behaviour”.[17] Consequently, the Estonian government canceled a planned visit by Schröder in his function as chairman of Nord Stream AG.
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