[Calvin Locke]

I heard a radio listener commenting about Germany's reluctance:

"The destruction and mayhem in Iraq won't be on the scale that Germany prefers, so they're opting out."

[DuncanWaring]

"The destruction and mayhem in Iraq won't be on the scale that Germany prefers, so they're opting out."

Or, as someone else put it: "The Germans want no part of any war they don't start."