Posted on 02/15/2003 4:00:02 PM PST by Pokey78
America is to punish Germany for leading international opposition to a war against Iraq. The US will withdraw all its troops and bases from there and end military and industrial co-operation between the two countries - moves that could cost the Germans billions of euros.
The plan - discussed by Pentagon officials and military chiefs last week on the orders of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - is designed 'to harm' the German economy to make an example of the country for what US hawks see as Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's 'treachery'.
The hawks believe that making an example of Germany will force other countries heavily dependent on US trade to think twice about standing up to America in future.
This follows weeks of increasingly angry exchanges between Rumsfeld and Germany, in which at one point he taunted Germany and France for being an irrelevant part of 'old Europe'.
Now Rumsfeld has decided to go further by unilaterally imposing the Pentagon's sanctions on a country already in the throes of economic problems.
'We are doing this for one reason only: to harm the German economy,' one source told The Observer last week.
'Our troops contribute many millions of dollars. Why should we continue to support a country which has treated Nato and the protection we provided for decades with such incredible contempt?'
Another Pentagon source said: 'The aim is to hit German trade and commerce. It is not just about taking out the troops and equipment; it is also about cancelling commercial contracts and defence-related arrangements.'
The Pentagon plan - and the language expressed by officials close to Rumsfeld - has horrified State Department officials, who believe that bullying other countries to follow the US line will further exacerbate anti-Americanism and alienate those European countries that might support a United Nations resolution authorising a war.
German industry earns billions of euros every year from supporting the US Army Europe which, although reduced from its Cold War heights, still totals 42,000 troops and 785 tanks - almost three times as many as the British Army owns. Many of these soldiers and their fighting equipment, including Apache helicopters, have already been sent to the Gulf.
German industry is heavily involved in supporting the US presence. Among the defence companies which stand to lose out are missile-maker Diehl, aerospace and defence giant EADS Deutschland, armaments maker Rheinmetall and vehicle maker Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.
There is also a US Air Force contingent of about 15,000 service people with bases at Bitburg, Frankfurt-am-Main and neighbouring Ramstein, where the commander doubles as part of the Nato command. This force includes nearly 60 F-16 fighter-bombers and a squadron of A-10 tank-buster aircraft.
Rumsfeld and his staff have made no attempt to hide their fury at Schröder's 'treachery and ineptitude' over Iraq. Last week Schröder leaked to reporters a Franco-German plan for avoiding war by increasing the number of UN weapons inspectors before informing his American counterparts.
'After this, Germany is finished as a serious power,' one of the sources added. 'This is simply not the way to conduct diplomacy at a moment of international crisis.' One diplomatic source said Rumsfeld was 'furious at Germany. He is a bruiser and it looks as though he means to do it'.
Under these plans, the US would move its troops in Europe eastwards to countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltic states, all of which have strongly supported America's line against Saddam Hussein. It is likely that the overall size of the deployment would be reduced, as the US military changes its priorities for a long-term and disparate engagement with international terrorism.
Although Rumsfeld had already been considering a redeployment of US troops around the world after a war in Iraq to save money and respond to new threats, the plans now under consideration go far beyond what had been discussed.
It is likely that future years will see a sharp increase in the proportion of special forces troops able to deploy rapidly across the globe.
Germany would suffer considerable financial loss if US forces were withdrawn from the country. The bases provide jobs for local people as everything from administrators to cleaners, and are huge customers for dairy products and bread.
I totally agree with you. I still have relatives there. My sister and her family and my brothers and their families, plus my cousins and their families live there. I am also ashamed of that bunch
They are still saying "We are not convinced" even though their own CIA equivalent told them about that and food poisoning on the 9th of August 2002.
I read the whole thing and didn't find reference to the food poisoning bit, but my German's getting rusty these days. Can you point me to where it is in this article, or is that bit in another German news article?
Anyway, the article you cited ended with this:
Als eine der wichtigsten westlichen Industrienationen und aufgrund der unzureichenden Bevorratung ist Deutschland als weitgehend ungeschütztes Land ein besonders "attraktives" Ziel für bioterroristische Angriffe.
My rough and probably bad translation:
As one of the most important industrial nations in the West, which is to a large extent an unprotected country due to its insufficient stocks of [smallpox vaccine], Germany is a particularly a "attractive" target for bioterror attacks.
Hmm.
Now here's the part of the article I find chilling:
Den deutschen Sicherheitsdiensten liegen dokumentierte Erkenntnisse vor, daß Pockenerreger außerhalb der offiziellen Labore in Atlanta und Koltsovo illegal, z. B. in Rußland, Irak und Nordkorea, gelagert werden. Ebenso gibt es Hinweise darauf, daß sich Terrorgruppen um die Herstellung biologischer Kampfstoffe bemühen.
Again, my poor translation:
German intelligence agencies present documented findings that smallpox pathogens are illegally stored outside the official laboratories in Atlanta and Koltsovo, e.g. in Russia, Iraq and North Korea. There is likewise reference to the fact that terrorist groups strive to produce biological agents.
Not if they have transitioned from being an ally to being an ADVERSARY.
It is time to face up to the fact that France, Germany, and Belgium are no longer our friends. And this is not just about Iraq. Trouble was brewing long before this, and an eventual falling-out was inevitable. The biggest mistake we could make is to continue operating as if they are still our allies, and that this is an alliance that needs to be "saved." It is already dead, and the sooner that we face up to that fact and act accordingly, the better off we will be.
Great point, I married a half Czech half Polish gal (from Pennsylvania) Never tried the beer but the girls are just right
Poland and the Czech Republic become important if "keeping the Russians out of Europe" is an important strategic objective for us. I'm not sure at this point if it really is. "Keeping the French/German axis from linking up with the Russians and dominating Europe" might be a more realistic and important strategic objective.
I see absolutely no good reason why we should continue to need any US forces in Germany.
The problem isn't with the Germans over here, but rather with the Germans over there. THE DECENT ONES IMMIGRATED!
100% accurate. This silly article is like many, a cliched attempt to feed the Euro perceptions of a bullying "Cowboy Republic" in the USA.
I don't think it's just a hoax. We really are threatening an invasion, and the invasion will eventually come. It just isn't going to come tomorrow.
As for France and Germany, I have the impression that they aren't intentionally helping the U.S., that we're merely taking advantage of what we know their policy to be. I think that the U.S. government is, in fact, genuinely perturbed at the willingness of the body politic in France and Germany to dump their ties with the U.S., but we'll make the best we can of it.
I don't think the whole thing is just a pretense or charade, since it would be difficult to make the relationships with France and Germany whole again afterwards, given that the charade could never be openly admitted.
I have the feeling, however, that Russia may be different, that Putin may possibly be consciously cooperating in this bizarre game. But I don't know, maybe Chirac is too. (I find it hard to believe that Schröder is being purposely helpful, but I guess there might be other elements in the German government who are.)
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