GERMANY, THE RE-ENGINEERED ALLY

PART 1: Readiness for endless war By Axel Brot (*) Republished with authors permission from Asia Times Online

Not so many years a o! many hoped "urope mi ht step up as a #ounterwei ht to $% impe& rial poli#ies' %u#h hopes were fo#used in parti#ular on (ermany & not only as the leadin "uropean power! but as a )nown moderatin ! non&military for#e in international politi#s' $% *ituperation of the reputed "uropean preferen#e for diploma#y and pea#eful #onfli#t resolution as well as offi#ial Britain! in the person of Ri#hard +ooper! former prime minister Tony Blairs international&relations uru! deemed it ne#essary to le#ture ,post&industrial "urope- about the need for ,double standards- and #olonial ruthlessness to beat down beni hted non&.esterners! seemed to i*e substan#e to these hopes' .ell! (ermany and the "uropean $nion did step up & but rather differently than expe#ted' And it was no ele#toral twit#h that set the sta e for ,better be wron with the $nited %tates than bein ri ht a ainst it-' %in#e An ela /er)els *isit to .ashin ton (as the #onser*ati*e opposition leader) on the e*e of the $% in*asion of 0ra1! to denoun#e then&#han#ellor (er& hard %#hroeders de#ision to oppose the war! the return to $% ood ra#es was not only the main #onser*ati*e forei n&poli#y pro2e#t3 it turned rapidly into the supreme pro2e#t of the (erman politi#al #lass & in#ludin the %o#ial 4emo#rats' /er)el be#ame the #han#ellor&to& o&to! the most trusted "uropean interlo#utor for the $% politi#al #lass to wor) 2ointly and determinedly to harden $% lobal he emony a ainst the #onse1uen#es of Ameri#as 0ra1&infli#ted wea)ness & this not only in the wider /iddle "ast but also! and espe#ially! with re ard to Russia and +hina! the Bush administrations ori inal enemy of #hoi#e before the ,birth pan s of a new /iddle "ast- #onsumed so mu#h of its politi#al #apital' O*er#omin the domesti# #onstraints on its ability to use the (erman army more extensi& *ely for ,humanitarian inter*entions-! for the defense of ,.estern #i*ili5ation- a ainst 0sla& mist terrorism! is an important! thou h not the most important! part of the /er)el o*ern& ments ,the .est united behind the $%- poli#y' Notwithstandin the absen#e of publi# debate on its strate i# impli#ations & e ! of the $% (and 0sraeli) do#trine of pre*enti*e war! the abolition of the North Atlanti# Treaty Or ani5ations eo raphi#al restri#tions! the mis& sion of ,se#urin a##ess to raw materials- & the re2e#tion on eneral prin#iples of a more a#ti*ist military role by a ma2ority of (ermans has not (yet) been o*er#ome' This has far&rea#hin #onse1uen#es6 it has! in a si nifi#ant way! rebooted (erman elite atti& tudes and expe#tations toward the "$! and toward (ermanys relationship with 7ran#e' The publi# dis#ourse about forei n poli#y as well as the underlyin elite mindset is #han in & from ,responsibly #onser*ati*e- to the #hannelin of the demons 8annah Arendt dealt with in her sear#h for the ori ins of 9:th&#entury disorder6 (British) imperialism! .estern milita& rism and ra#ism' And sin#e the ma2ority of (ermans is (a ain) far behind the #ur*e of elite opinion! the efforts of ,re&edu#atin - them (as 4er %pie el re#ently demanded a ain) are as #onsistently strident as they are mytholo i5in ' But there are also 1uite a number of senior offi#ials and politi#ians! still ser*in or retired! who are loo)in with dismay or worry at the e*olution of (erman poli#ies in response to the #risis of $%&(erman relations' Their publi#ly *oi#ed #on#erns are fo#used on the expansion of (erman military #ommitments & of the easy to et into! but next to impossible to et out of sort & and the rapid deterioration of relations with Russia'

0n addition! amon the small number of senior experts on international e#onomi#s! a ma2o& rity are loo)in with deep forebodin at the mountin instabilities of the international finan& #ial system' They see them dri*en by the hu e trade imbalan#es of the $% and the rowin threat to le*era e them a ainst the #reditor nations & in parti#ular a ainst +hina! Russia! and the members of the Or ani5ation of ;etroleum "xportin +ountries that are runnin lar e surpluses' The $% #on ressionally mandated finan#ial san#tions a ainst su#h #ountries as 0ran! %yria! +uba and North <orea are ta)en! moreo*er! as indi#ators that the $nited %tates is about to destroy the trust the international finan#ial system is based upon' The #onse1uen#es of its e*entual & sooner rather than later & meltdown will be dramati# and un#ontrollable' These warnin *oi#es are! thou h! in the win s of the (erman debate' The sta e is held by the narrati*e of the terrorist mena#e' But there are *ery few serious experts who sin#erely belie*e that 0slamist terrorism is moti*ated by their hate for ,.estern freedoms and *alues-' 8ate and the desire for re*en e are #ertainly #ru#ial elements3 but this has not mu#h to do with .estern #ulture or with the alle ed humiliatin reali5ation of /uslim infe& riority' 0f one should be loo)in for #auses! the de#ades of *iolen#e the .est *isited upon these #ountries! either dire#tly or throu h its dependent re imes! is a ne#essary part of the explanation' The other part! of #ourse! would ha*e to fa#e the fa#t that it was the .est that transformed wea) and isolated fundamentalist #ells into its terrorist (olem' 0t nurtured! trained! finan#ed! or ani5ed and used it for de#ades in terror #ampai ns a ainst se#ular nationalist and so#ialist re imes and mo*ements until those were defeated or isolated! lea& *in their #ompromised remnants to do the .estern biddin ' Thou h (ermany was not in the forefront of /iddle "ast meddlin ! it was fully en a ed in #reatin and empowerin a .ahhabi&%alafist #oalition to fi ht the %o*iets and the #ommunist re ime in Af hanistan & the #entral front in the lobal anti&#ommunist offensi*e that appeared to ha*e turned terrorism on three #ontinents into the .estern weapon of #hoi#e' And for the /iddle "ast this still seems to be the #ase' 0t is seen in the .estern use of %unni terror roups (and the anti&0ranian & o*ernment /u2ahadeen&e&<hal1! as well as the 0ranian sister or ani5ation of the <urdistan .or)ers ;arty) a ainst 0ran! and a ainst the as#endent %hiites in =ebanon' But the mytholo i5ation of al&>aeda and the ,#lash (in (erman! war) of #i*ili5ations- ser*es to le itimi5e the readiness for endless war' 0n the words of a retired (erman offi#ial6 ,.e ha*e been wal)in the world o*er the #liff! and are fallin into a sea of blood'All of this does not only in*ol*e ideolo i#al re&ri in ' 0n the $% wa)e! (ermany is runnin up the pennant of permanent war' The followin should ser*e to pro*ide a *iew into some of its parti#ulars' The German- ren!h "andem %in#e 1?@@! after 7ran#e left the North Atlanti# Treaty Or ani5ations military inte ration! (ermany has been 7ran#es primary partner! and the 7ren#h&(erman tandem was the a#ti*e #ore that dro*e the "uropean "#onomi# +ommunity toward the "uropean $nion' (ermany handled the tension between its #lose relationship with the $% and the one with 7ran#e by #ompartmentali5in 6 with 7ran#e! "urope3 with the $%! NATO and se#urity' But notwithstandin the efforts to pre*ent #onfli#ts de*elopin between these two poles of (erman forei n poli#y! there was always a stron tenden#y within the (erman politi#al #lass to re ard the pro#ess of "uropean inte ration as leadin toward an in#reasin autonomy of "uropean interests and poli#ies from those of the $%' The $% did not see it differently & par&

ti#ularly after the end of the +old .ar' The administrations of Bill +linton and (eor e 8 . Bush in*ested! therefore! a lot of politi#al #apital and #unnin to pre*ent that from o##ur& rin ' Both administrations #onsidered the "uropean relationship with Russia as the )ey for the *iability of su#h a pro2e#t and the "$s and NATOs new east "uropean members as the le*er to assure its abortion' But with the allian#e #risis of 9::9&:A & also! dependin on the perspe#ti*e! the apo ee or the nadir of the 7ren#h&(erman duo & the $% was able to mobili5e not only the politi#al eli& tes of the new NATO & and "$ & members of eastern "urope as well as those of 4enmar)! the Netherlands and %pain a ainst the spe#ter of an independent "uropean #ourse' 0t was the re*olt of the 7ren#h and (erman $%&oriented elites & expressin itself publi#ly in an in#essant and thorou h media #ampai n & that sealed its fate' All of a sudden! the (erman& 7ren#h spe#ial relationship had lost mu#h of its salien#e' The hori5on of the )ind of "uro& pean inte ration the $nited %tates #onsidered a threat to its own international role re*ealed itself as mu#h more of a mira e than it appeared before it was put to the test' +han#ellor /er)el is the (erman in#arnation of this re*olt' And the lioni5ed #hampion of the #olle#ti*e "uropean ri ht! the Ameri#ans! and the 0sraelis! Ni#olas %ar)o5y! is the ideal 7ren#h president for turnin /er)els reat forei n&poli#y pro2e#t into a 2oint *enture6 wel& din the "$ to the $%! ma)in "uropean inte ration ser*e the $%&dominated! .estern international order & whate*er the #ost' 0t is not as if former 7ren#h president Ba#1ues +hira# and his forei n and military poli#y bureau#ra#ies had still been able to put the bra)es on /er)el' After #onfrontin the $% on the 0ra1 issue in 9::9&:A! to ether with then&#han#ellor %#hroeder! and ha*in maneu*ered Russian ;resident Cladimir ;utin into ta)in the same stan#e! +hira#s politi#al will was exhausted and prospe#ts for a more independent "uropean road in international politi#s was dead' %#hroeders #apa#ity to a#t in tandem with +hira# was in#reasin ly #ir#ums#ribed by his domesti# wea)ness3 and the $% reminded the 7ren#h administration for#efully of what it means to play hardball with 7ren#h interests' 8e was stymied! li)e %#hroeder! by the neo& #onser*ati*eDneo&liberal! $%&oriented ma2ority of the elites' After 9::A! 7ren#h poli#ies followed (ermany somewhat listlessly in supportin the $% ones! in parti#ular in the wider /iddle "ast & thou h still tryin to play their own ame in =ebanon! while e in on the Ameri#ans and 0sraelis a ainst %yria and 0ran' Ne*ertheless! while #on#edin the ame in the /iddle "ast! +hira# and %#hroeder still tried to #reate a stable framewor) of relations with Russia and +hina! the basis of somethin li)e a "urasian #ommon e#onomi# re ion' This notion has already 2oined the mi ht&ha*e&beens of history' Neither would ha*e led the ele#tion of %ar)o5ys #ompetitor! %e olene Royal! to a reatly different #on#eption of 7ren#h forei n poli#y' Royal was roomed by 7ran#ois /itterrand! the %o#ialist president who had brou ht to perfe#tion the art of de#oratin with left&win flouris& hes an ex#eedin ly hard&nosed! rather *i#ious! #o*ert&operations approa#h to forei n poli#y' 0n fa#t! the different *ersions of the 7ren#h %o#ialist ;arty after .orld .ar 00 were ne*er )nown for parti#ularly salubrious poli#ies6 from their allian#e with the +orsi#an heroin mafia in /arseilles to their support of 7ren#h #olonial wars! from bombin (reenpea#e ships to in*ol*ement in the Ruanda eno#ide' There is nothin surprisin ! therefore! that both Royal and %ar)o5y are #lose to the parti#ularly shrill 7ren#h *ersion of ,humanitarian inter*entio& nists-! drawin from the same sto#) of #i*ili5ational warriors that dominates 7ren#h publi# dis#ourse' %ar)o5ys #hoi#e for forei n minister! Bernard <ou#hner! is therefore less of a pea#e offerin to the %o#ialists than an indi#ator of ideolo i#al #ommitments' <ou#hner is not only one of the ideolo i#al odfathers of ,anti&totalitarian! humanitarian inter*entionism-! he is also the one under whose bene*olent eyes & in his fun#tion as its $nited Nations administrator & <oso*o a#1uired the ma)in s of the first! ethni#ally almost pure! "uropean mafia&state'

4urin the 1?F:s! some of his /ede#ins du /onde (whi#h he founded after splittin from the /ede#ins sans 7rontiGres) assisted the Af han mu2ahideen with somewhat more than medi#al&only rear ser*i#es' Thou h he mi ht not be tainted with aidin the Ameri#ans (as some suspe#ted)! as other non& o*ernmental or ani5ations are! in turnin the +ambodian refu ee #amps in Thailand into bases for the re#onstitution of the <hmer Rou e as $% proxies! his re#ord! ne*erthe& less! 2ustifies +olin ;owells famous di#tum about N(Os as $% ,for#e multipliers- a*ant la lettre6 human ri hts and medi#al ser*i#es for $% friends and #lients! none for the opposi& tion' %ar)o5ys ideolo i#al ba a e also #ontains the 7ren#h&0sraeli business lawyer Arno <lars& feld!a rather hysteri#al #ampai ner for the ri hts of 0srael and the defense of .estern #i*ili& 5ation as well as the son of noted Na5i hunters %er e and Beate <larsfeld' 8e *olunteered in 9::9 to ser*e in the 0sraeli 4efense 7or#e and a##ompanied the 0sraeli border uards as a member on their rampa e throu h the ;alestinian territories' <larsfeld was %ar)o5ys lea& din #andidate for headin the #ontro*ersial new /inistry for 0mmi ration and National 0dentity & a mo*e #omparable to Bush proposin ri ht&win 0sraeli politi#al leader A*i dor =iebermann as the head of a new department for 8ispani#s! /uslims and Afri#an&Ameri#ans' 7or the time bein ! thou h! %ar)o5y seems to ha*e re#onsidered this ex#eedin ly pro*o#a& ti*e appointment' .idely 1uoted as mentor and inspirer of %ar)o5ys ,anti&totalitarian- outloo) is philosopher AndrH (lu#)smann6 one of the many minor embodiments of 8annah Arendts insi ht about the 7ren#h haute bour eoisies romanti# infatuation with the rhetori#al bombast of ideolo i& #al ro ues and the titillations of *iolen#e' 4urin the 1?F:s he mar)eted nu#lear war as an antidote a ainst the "uropean addi#tion to pea#e and to sa*e humanity & and .estern #i*ili& 5ation & from #ommunism' After the %o*iet #ollapse! he a itated for "urope to 2oin any Ameri#an or 0sraeli war in rea#h a ainst the ,new 8itlers- (/ilose*i#5! %addam 8ussein! Arafat! Assad! et#) and ,0slamofas#ists-! as well as for his )ind of moral poli#ies a ainst ,totalitarian- +hina and ,newly&totalitarian- Russia' These attra#tions! howe*er! did not remain limited to the ;arisian salons and media6 As the preferred 7ren#h interlo#utor for #asti atin the (erman la#) of martial fiber! while in (er& many (lu#)smann briefly repla#ed on ,hi h&brow- TC the well &respe#ted! thou h liberal and measured! spe#ialist on (erman&7ren#h relations! ;rofessor Alfred (rosser' 0n 9::9! (rosser had #ommitted the rather deadly mista)e of #riti#i5in instead of defendin 0sraels ri ht to do as it li)es in the ;alestinian territories' 8e disappeared from (erman s#reens as did many of the (erman #orrespondents of the publi# media who had failed to appre#iate the ;alestinians as the new Na5is' 0n *iew of the fa#t that most "uropean mainstream #onser*ati*e parties (and e*en some %o#ial 4emo#rati# #urrents) propa andi5e the immi rant issue in#reasin ly in terms of the ,#lash of #i*ili5ations- and the ,new antisemitism-! they ha*e spurred an interestin #han e of orientation in the extreme ri ht with all the potential for open (li)e in 4enmar) or 0taly) or ta#it allian#es (li)e in %pain)' The extreme ri ht (7ront National! Claams Belan ! =e a Nord! Allian5a Na5ionale! ;arti *an de Cri2heit et#) and its nebula of oon s1uads ha*e also been busy buildin brid es to 0srael and to the *iolen#e&in#lined! but ti htly leashed! Iionist ri ht (=i)ud "urope! Betar! Bewish 4efense =ea ue! et#) in the stru le a ainst ,"urabia-' One mi ht! therefore! wonder whether %ar)o5y has not already ta)en his #ommitment to fi ht a ainst the ,new antisemit& ism- and to defend 7ren#h ,national identity- a tad too far' (i*en the thousands of maimed or dead Arab! Asian! and Afri#an immi rant *i#tims of ra#ial *iolen#e in .estern "urope durin the last 1J years & underin*esti ated! underreported! and underprose#uted in (er& many as well as 7ran#e & one mi ht e*en wonder whether the #all to arms a ainst the rise

of antisemitism is not misdire#ted and whether %ar)o5y and his #ir#le do not do double duty as arsonists in the fire&bri ade' Bur %ar)o5y is not only a #i*ili5ational warrior' 8e and his ad*isers & the +"Os of the lar est media #on lomerates and the insuran#e business & are #ommitted to a radi#al restru#turin of the distribution of power between the patronat and the unions! between state and so#iety! between the wor)ers and the haute bour eoisie' %ar)o5y has mar)eted himself as the ener eti# exe#utor of a #onsensus in sear#h of an exe& #utor for the last 9: or so years' 4ele itimi5in the whole system of so#ial prote#tions with their institutional underpinnin s has been at the #enter of what amounted to a psy#holo i#al warfare #ampai n a ainst the idea that there is a le itimate #laim on so#ial 2usti#e' After se*eral false starts! this pro ram seems to ha*e found with him the e#hoes of the pre&.orld .ar 00 deep ri hts ,patrie! famille! tra*ail-! instead of ,libertH! fraternitH! H alitH-' "*en the %o#ialist leadership! not at all dis#omfited by Royals defeat & as testified by its well publi#i5ed #olle#ti*e si h of relief & is into the spirit of thin s' 7ren#h %o#ialist ;arty politi#ian 4omini1ue %trauss&<ahns ,the red fla is in the mud for ood- phrase renders unsurprisin that not a few *oters mi ht ha*e pondered the ad*anta es of ettin the una*oidable up front instead of in fits! starts! and misdire#tion' Neither the 7ren#h elites! nor the (erman #han#ellor! nor the $%! are in the mood for dea& lin with 1ualms and hesitations a la Royal' %ar)o5y! in #ontrast! has the intention! the will! the ener y! the support of the politi#al #lass! as well as the #on#eption of himself as the ri ht man for the 2ob! to pull 7ran#e to the Ameri#an ood side' A ,noble #ompetition- bet& ween /er)el and %ar)o5y mi ht e*en be shapin up! re ardin who is oin to wor) more #losely with the $% & espe#ially sin#e /er)el is at a disad*anta e' %he is burdened with a %o#ial 4emo#rati# #oalition partner tryin to sa*e the remnants of %#hroeders Russian poli& #ies and under pressure from the pa#ifist left! and more importantly! from a new! non&se#ta& rian left&win party that is eatin into its ele#torate and party membership' (i*en the fa#t that the ma2ority of the (erman politi#al #lass and the media are runnin a ain a hi h Russophobe fe*er! there is not mu#h #han#e that these remnants will be sal*a& eable' 0t is! instead! possible that (ermany will 2oin in when a suffi#iently stron #ataly5in e*ent tips relations with Russia into a no holds barred effort to et to the end of the ,Rus& sian problem-' 0n the meantime! the Russians will #arry on as if they had a ,strate i# part& ner- in /er)el! and /er)el will #ontinue to si nal her dissatisfa#tion with Russias deli*erin on .estern demands & and lea*e it to the %o#ial 4emo#rati# leadership to deal with its nos& tal ia' Refi""in# T$r%e& for i"s 'ro'er role One of the most interestin poli#y initiati*es of the new (erman&7ren#h tandem may appear to be a sideshow but is! in fa#t! emblemati# of the shape of thin s to #ome6 repla#in the "$ hori5on for Tur)ey with one more fittin for an oriental strate i# asset' /er)el and %ar)o5y are now 2ointly leadin an "$&wide #oalition dead set a ainst ma)in ood on the de#ades&old promise for the inte ration of Tur)ey into the "$ as soon as it is able to implement the a#1uis #ommunautaire (total body of "$ law)' .ith the ele#tion of %ar)o5y the ,open&ended- a##ession ne otiations ha*e no #han#e of remainin open&ended and with his help /er)el will be able to outmaneu*er her %o#ial 4emo#rati# ba a e while still insistin on ne otiatin with Tur)ey in ood faith' 7or /er)el! %ar)o5y and their #i*ili5ational warriors! Tur)ey has no "uropean ,*o#ation-! for #ultural! +hristian! and o##idental reasons' /er)el promises! instead! a ,spe#ial relation& ship- and %ar)o5y proposes to sponsor a ,/editerranean #ommunity-! an#hored on Tur)ey! 0srael and /oro##o! as a eopoliti#al barrier a ainst Afri#an immi rants! 0slami# fundamen& talists! and as an additional *enue for 0sraeli ambitions'

The 1uestion! thou h! is how to ma)e Tur)ey i*e up its "$ aspirations and fall into line with whate*er plans are made for it' And the main problem is! in fa#t! that Tur)eys most #ommitted "uropeanists are to be found in the moderately #onser*ati*e and moderately reli ious #enter&ri ht Busti#e and 4e*elopment (A<;) party! the first o*ernin party after .orld .ar 00 whi#h is fairly #lean! rather #ompetent e#onomi#ally! and tena#iously di in at the immensely #orrupt and #riminal ,deep state-6 the #on lomerate of politi#ians! military intelli en#e! spe#ial poli#e s1uads! and their le ions of #ut&outs! #ut&throats! and patsies! the Tur)ish mafia! (rey .ol*es (ie! ri htwin terrorists)! feudal landowners! and asso#iated business *entures' This o*ernment is tryin to drain a swamp in whi#h (erman intelli en#e was up to its )nees sin#e the days of its bein tas)ed with #haperonin the ,Trident- intelli& en#e #oordination between the Tur)ish! 0ranian! and 0sraeli intelli en#e ser*i#es' Tur)eys ,deep state- has been (and! to some de ree! still is) the enablin en*ironment & and with 0srael! the "astern /editerranean hub & for the interbreedin of intelli en#e! the se#urity business! terrorist roups for hire! and mafia operations' 0t has produ#ed the stran& est! rather fri htenin ! but most lu#rati*e! hybrids between bla#) operations! sub*ersion! tar eted )illin s and )idnappin s! and the whole panoply of the dru ! prote#tion! or an har& *estin ! bla#) medi#al resear#h and pharma#olo y! the emi ration! sla*e labor! weapons and te#hnolo y! #ounterfeitin ! money launderin ra#)ets' Boined to 0sraels netherworld! its rea#h extends from the Arab #ountries to Afri#a! from Russia and the +0% to western and +entral Asia! and! of #ourse! to "urope' This is what the Tur)ish o*ernment & with a stron popular mandate & is tryin to reform in order to #onform to the re1uirements of "$ membership' The A<; is! for ood reasons! stron ly #ommitted to the "$6 by itself it would be 1uite unable to ma)e its sanitation man& date wor)! whate*er the stren th of its ele#toral base' 0t is only *ia the "$ that it #an e*en approa#h the holy of holies! the #onstitutional ;raetorian prero ati*e of the Tur)ish military' 0ts defenders & the parties of the se#ular ,.hite Tur)s- (ie! the urban elites) who re ard the reforms the "$ a##ession pro#ess imposes as endan erin their ownership of the state & are pre#isely those %ar)o5y and /er)el are relyin on to derail Tur)eys "$ prospe#ts' The .hite Tur)s ,deep state- is already swin in into a#tion6 from a spate of hi h&profile murders with an ostensible ,fundamentalist- ba#) round! to the threat of a military #oup dHtat! from the demonstrations with the mali#ious slo an ,neither %haria! nor puts#h- (try& in to taint the A<; with the fundamentalist brush)! to the the #ollusion between a#tin ;re& sident Ahmet Ne#det %e5er and the +onstitutional +ourt (sworn to uphold the military pre& ro ati*es) in pro*o)in a #onstitutional #risis to blo#) the ele#tion of the popular 7orei n /inister Abdullah (ul to the presiden#y' %in#e Tur)eys main .estern allies are de#idedly unhappy with the su##esses of reform and the rowin self&#onfiden#e of the o*ernment of Tur)ish ;rime /inister Re#ep Tayyip "rdo& an! /er)el and her #ohorts are en a ed in a rather *i#ious ame of dele itimi5in Tur)ish aspirations throu h *eiled threats and humiliations' 0t is not only the mo*in oal posts ame that Tur)ey has to ne otiate' 0t is the )ind of #ued "uropean dis#ussion that says in effe#t! ,.e will ma)e sure to pre*ent the "$ membership of Tur)ey- (whate*er the domesti# reper#ussions in the se*eral million stron Tur)ish #ommunity in (ermany)! that is desi ned to #oer#e the A<; into i*in up' There is also the tidy side&payment to #onsider! namely! the domesti# dele itimi5ation of the A<; and the reempowerment of the deep state! now represented by the Nationalist /o*e& ment (/8;) party and Tur)eys oldest politi#al party! the Tur)ish Republi#an ;arty (+8;) that has ser*ed .estern eopoliti#s oh&so&well' Tyin the Tur)ish o*ernment into )nots! the $% o*ernment and many of the "uropean media are laudin the #onstitutional *o#ation of the Tur)ish military to prote#t the se#ular state (implyin a ain that the A<; is intent on turnin Tur)ey into a sharia state) while! at

the same time! "uropean politi#ians raise the spe#ter of the threat of military inter*ention in Tur)ish politi#s as proof that Tur)ey is not "$ material' 0n the same fashion! ,hi h "uropean offi#ials- do ba#) round briefin s on how a military #ampai n a ainst the ;<< in 0ra1 would strain NATO and end Tur)eys a##ession ne otiations be#ause it would be proof that the Tur& )ish o*ernment & whi#h is a ainst inter*ention & #annot #ontrol its military' 0t is a perfidi& ous set&up be#ause the $% and 0srael (with (erman support) are doin e*erythin to stren then and use the 0ranian ;<< networ) for its proxy #ampai n a ainst Tehran' But why are these for#es fi htin so hard to terminate Tur)eys "$ prospe#tsL The answer lies not in the new #onser*ati*eDri ht&win obsession with o##idental identity politi#s or with the enlar ement blues' The $% was denied the use of Tur)ish territory for atta#)in 0ra1 from the north3 Tur)ey insisted! instead! on its /ontreux Treaty prero ati*e of refusin a permanent Ameri#an na*al s1uadron in the Bla#) %ea' 0t has rather relaxed politi#al! and hi h& rowth e#onomi# relations with its nei hbors! %yria and 0ran' 0t has been a##used of dra in its feet on the Nabu##o as pipeline! desi ned to brin +entral Asian as to "urope and to #ir#um*ent the Russian pipeline system' 0t has! in fa#t! ex#ellent politi#al and e#onomi# relations with Russia while ha*in one out of the 1??:s business of sub*ertin the +entral Asian republi#s' 7urthermore! it an ered 0srael with its dis#reet #onta#ts with 8amas and by #oolin down the politi#al s#ope of the military and intelli en#e relationship (as well as its attendant business opportunties)' And it hurt powerful interests with a more serious en a ement with 0nterpol' 0n other words! the A<; o*ernment is stri*in to s#ale down the use of Tur)ey as a stra& te i# platform for all sorts of mayhem! fo#usin instead 1uite su##essfully on re ional trade and in*estment opportunities to maintain Tur)eys e#onomi# rowth & thus stabili5in a ro& win middle #lass of ,bla#) Tur)s-' This approa#h! thou h! #rimps $% efforts to expand the strate i# threat a ainst 0ran' "*en more importantly! it limits Ameri#an a##ess to the +au#a& sus and +entral Asia and hampers its plans for pullin the $)raine! (eor ia and A5erbai2an into a permanent and mu#h more extensi*e military relationship' 0n sum6 thou h prudent enou h to ha*e a##omodated the Tur)ish militarys usual le*el of #ooperation with .estern ($%! 0sraeli! and (erman) operations a ainst its nei hbors! it still disre arded the demands of the .estern rand strate y' 0ts poli#ies did nothin to help in the , reat ame- of turnin the +au#asus and +entral Asia into a le*er to be used a ainst Russia and +hina' Neither did the Tur)ish o*ernment do enou h for the shorter&term pay& off! ie! ainin #ontrol o*er +entral Asian oil and as' All of this did not win the Tur)ish o*ernment friends in the ri ht pla#es' 0t set itself up! instead! for some *ariant of a re ime&#han e operation in whi#h the #ampai n a ainst Tur)eys "$ aspirations will play a pi*otal role' Thou h the Tur)ish military is always ood for a #oup detat! it may be diffi#ult to do it this time without an inopportune le*el of *iolen#e (,+hileani5ation-) sin#e the A<; won the ele#& tions resoundin ly' There are other options a*ailable that mi ht tea#h the for#es of Tur)ish reform lessons about red lines and o*errea#hin ' A short wal) down memory lane mi ht illustrate what is possible' One of the most su##essful & and ,bla#)est- & of $%&British ,bla#) operation- a ainst a .estern! albeit neutral! #ountry was #arried out in first half of the 1?F:s' 0n 9:::! none other than Rea ans se#retary of defense! +aspar .einber er! de#lassified it in an inter*iew with %wedish TC in the #ontext of an in*esti ation into the affair of the ,%o*iet submari& nes-' Then %wedish prime minister Olaf ;alme was a real thorn in .estern flesh' Apart from his ba#)in for the Afrin#an National +on ress and the ;alestine =iberation Or ani5ation! he was *ery *o#al in his #riti#ism of the in#reasin ly dan erous Ameri#an #onfrontation poli#ies

towards the %o*iet $nion' 8is stan#e en2oyed widespread support within the %wedish population' This #han ed rather dramati#ally with the worldwide fren5y about ,the %o*iet a ression of neutral %weden-! when %wedish territorial waters were repeatedly ,*iolated by %o*iet submarines- and by landin s of ,%o*iet spe#ial for#es- on the %wedish #oast' These ,in#ursions- stopped with the still unresol*ed murder of ;alme in 1?F@! despite two unsu##essful attempts to #on*i#t a man named +hrister ;ettersson for the #rime' .ith a pleased smir)! .einber er #onfirmed that there was nothin %o*iet in the *iolation of %wedish territorial waters (the %o*iets ,didnt ha*e the #apabilities-)' There were! inste& ad! routine exer#ises! ,between the %wedish na*y and the Ameri#an and British na*ies and sin#e they were routine! the %wedish admiral responsible saw ob*iously no need to inform his superiors or his subordinates about the nature of the ,enemy-' 0t was! in fa#t! not 1uite a ,re ime #han e-! but a 2oint $%&$< operation to ether with the top brass of the %wedish na*y and %wedish intelli en#e! #ondu#ted a ainst the forei n poli#y of the %wedish o*ernment' %in#e then %weden has been rather #areful not to #hal& len e Ameri#an poli#ies & with the ex#eption perhaps of the *ery popular 7orei n /inister Anna =indh! in line to be#ome the next prime minister' %he was stabbed to death in 9::A by a mentally disturbed youn immi rant' At the time! su#h operations brou ht the world #lose to the brin) of nu#lear war' The %o*iets understandably saw this as a #ru#ial indi#ator that the $% was preparin its allies! and batt& lin with a powerful pea#e mo*ement! for nu#lear preemption a ainst the ,in#reasin ly a ressi*e- and ,bra5en- %o*iet $nion' A *ariant of su#h an operation today! thou h sure to ha*e its own blowba#)s! would #er& tainly not in*ol*e that )ind of ris)' 0t would also ta)e into a##ount that the Tur)ish military and intelli en#e are not as monolithi# as they on#e were6 there is )ind of nationalist rea#tion to the easy #ontempt with whi#h they are ta)en for ranted' But it would #han e Tur)eys politi#al hori5on for ood6 a poli#y sub2e#ted to a permanent ,strate y of tension-! #ounte& rin demo#rati# aspirations with the power of the deep state' And from a #ertain perspe#ti& *e! this is an eminently desirable out#ome' 0t would ma)e Tur)ey the rateful re#ipient of %ar)o5ys idea of a /editerranean #ommunity and /er)els notion of a spe#ial relationship' Gloom& old hands There mi ht ha*e been room! of #ourse! for a debate in ood faith about Tur)eys implementation of the "$s a#1uis #ommunautaire' This is what the ,open&ended- ne otia& tin pro#ess was all about' 0t is bein poisoned! howe*er! by the bad faith #hara#teri5in /er)els and %ar)o5ys approa#h towards Tur)ey' The de#ay of responsible diploma#y towards an ally and the rise of #ulturalist dema o uery is the symptom of somethin one mi ht #all a ,proto&totalitarian transition- ta)in pla#e under the uise of the ,war on terror-' 0t is led by the de#ay of responsibility and predi#ta& bility in the #ondu#t of Ameri#an forei n poli#y' Thus! for not a few senior (erman diplomats & those whose #areer too) off under former #han#ellor 8elmut %#hmidt or under forei n minister 8ans&4ietri#h (ens#her! and those military planners who still remember the war s#are of the first half of the 1?F:s & there is no li ht at the end of the tunnel' The Ameri#an inability to se#ure a more stable international en*ironment! the #ombination of militan#y and o*errea#hin ! pro*ide the terms of referen#e for the loominess of these senior perennials' They are #ertainly not pea#e&at&any&pri#e bleedin hearts nor #loset dissi& dents' They ha*e an in rained propensity to loo) at the world as the sta e of ,them *ersus us-' They #ome from families of #i*il ser*ants! a#ademi#s! and military offi#ers who #an well sort out the differen#e between the ,upstairs- and ,downstairs- & worlds of international politi#s' 0n other words! they are as solidly ,.estern- or ,Atlanti#ist- as one #ould wish' And they are also the first eneration of senior (erman bureau#rats who ha*e been deeply

#omfortable with the absen#e of lian power'

reat power ambitions and with the (erman role as a #i*i&

Their outloo) and their refle#tion of (ermanys #olle#ti*e experien#e ma)es them *alue sta& bility3 at least insofar as any blowba#) resultin from the use of for#e should be less than the threat #ountered' This! of #ourse! #an be liberally interpreted and does not offer mu#h for dealin with unpredi#tability' But pruden#e! s)epti#ism! and an iron#lad sense of self& limitation pro*ided the habits for na*i atin in the wa)e of $% and 0sraeli poli#ies' These old hands dont write papers! they do not share their #on#erns in staff meetin s! they may not e*en #ommuni#ate them in more formal settin s' Ne*ertheless! the unease is pal& pable and it is the retirees who are *oi#in it! with different emphases and different de rees of bluntness' These are men su#h as %#hmidt! with his reputation as a no&nonsense Atlanti& #ist3 the #onser*ati*e former minister of defense! Col)er Ruhe3 the retired head of the plan& nin staff under Ruhe! Ci#e&Admiral $lri#h .eisser3 the former forei n poli#y spea)er of the #onser*ati*es parliamentary #au#us! <arl =amers' They are well a#1uainted with the new #rop of their Ameri#an #ounterparts who prepare! #ontrol or exe#ute Ameri#an poli#ies with brittle arro an#e and with the #risis& and #onfron& tation &prone default settin of Ameri#an forei n poli#y formation' 7or 1uite a few of them! howe*er! the most worryin indi#ation that the $nited %tates is irre*o#ably set on dra in the world into a ni htmare of #ontinuous and #haoti# *iolen#e! is twofold6 the fli ht or dismissal of senior! #onser*ati*e professionals from the exe#uti*e bran#h of the o*ernment and the unrestrained! stran ely exhibitionist loryin of many Ameri#an politi#ians at the ability to infli#t unrestrained *iolen#e' One mi ht add a third one! rele*ant espe#ially to diplomats who had been posted in the /iddle "ast! or to the #lassi#ists6 the wholesale lootin and the destru#tion of J!::: years of /esopotamian anti1uities! 2ud ed on par with the %panish eradi#ation of the #omplete writ& ten re#ord of the /esoameri#an #i*ili5ations as well as the #ultural herita e of all 0ndian #ul& tures that they #ould lay their hands on3 and one that also ran)s with the British burnin of A!::: years worth of +hinese boo)s! histori#al re#ords! and do#uments durin the %e#ond Opium .ar' This barbari# la#) of respe#t for one of the most important herita es of man)ind spea)s *olumes about the mindset this war has exposed' There is the reali5ation that institutional blo#)s ha*e been disabled and with it their #areer premium on a healthy sense of the need to employ $% power #arefully & to a#)nowled e its exe#uti*e! le al! and politi#al limitations' But sin#e the 1?K:s! patient! allian#e&buildin ideolo ue&ad*enturers! thin)&tan)ers and 2ournalists! ha*e #rept up throu h the institutions! usin and bein used! 2oinin the fantasies of redemption! re*en e! plunder! and #ontrol o*er the world! into an a#tion pro ram for employin Ameri#an power' The style betrays the #hara#ter' %in#e the ambitions of these ideolo ues are mu#h lar er than their edu#ation! they flatter themsel*es into belie*in they are the New Romans! that they write history on a e*en reater s#ale than Titus =i*ius3 and their *anity expe#ts awe! not reason' But they are a#tin out the rand ui nol *ersion of empire whose points of referen#e mi ht be %allust! ;etronius or ;ro#opius! those who #asti ated or ridi#uled or despaired at the #orruption and the pretentions of its personnel' 0t is the remar)able la#) of de#orum! the intentional sta in of bullyin lan ua e! ri#h in threats and insults! the resentful hypo#risy! the sli htly unhin ed display of bad faith when diploma#y and suasion are the order of the day! that has #on*in#ed e*en some of the ,2ust& a&bad&pat#h- hopefuls that the bad times are here to stay' The fear beneath mu#h of the uneasiness has to do! of #ourse! with memories of what hap& pens when the resentments and dreams of omnipoten#e of a politi#al #lass are hi2a#)ed by those who promise to i*e them satisfa#tion on a histori# s#ale'

4urin the +old .ar! there was always a mad! thou h well&#onne#ted! frin e that ra*itated towards Ameri#an strate i# poli#ies6 e ! "dward Teller with his notion of res#uin the *ery small! ,*aluable- part of humanity in the depths of mines in order to reseed the earth after nu#lear war3 %idney 8oo) with his #on*i#tion that .estern belief in the trans#endent a*e it the #ru#ial nu#lear&war ed e o*er the #ommunists who only belie*ed in the here and now3 the psy#hopaths within the +0A! li)e %idney (ottlieb who headed the a en#ys /<$=TRA mind #ontrol pro ram! or #ounter&intelli en#e #hief Bames Besus An leton3 and the many se#ular and reli ious milleniarists in the .hite 8ouse! the military! in +on ress! and in thin)&tan)s! who were intent on an apo#alypti# resolution to the seemin ly endless un#er& tainties of the +old .ar' But to the end! wiser heads pre*ailed & if only 2ust' 0t did not last' The Ameri#an politi#al #lass seems to ha*e drawn all the wron #on#lusions from the end of the +old .ar and the brea)up of the %o*iet $nion' 0ts leisurely stroll towards permanent lobal he emony 2ust did not happen' Thus! frustration and the #ra*in for re*en e ha*e be#ome main dri*ers of $% poli#ies' The e*ents of %eptember 11 fo#used their #ommon dysfun#tionality! but they are not its root #ause'

1:

GERMANY, THE RE-ENGINEERED ALLY

Par" (: E)er&"hin# is *ro%en By Axel Brot

+ro%en ma!hiner& The Ameri#an politi#al #lass seems to ha*e drawn all the wron #on#lusions from the end of the +old .ar and the brea)up of the %o*iet $nion' 0ts leisurely stroll towards permanent lobal he emony 2ust did not happen' Thus! frustration and the #ra*in for re*en e ha*e be#ome main dri*ers of $% poli#ies' The e*ents of %eptember 11 fo#used their #ommon dysfun#tionality! but they are not its root #ause' 0t is from this *anta e point that arises the resi ned and poi nant expe#tation that the $% will permit neither a stable Russia nor a non&#ata#lysmi# a##ommodation of +hinas rise' Ameri#an politi#s now ha*e 2ust enou h flexibility to ne otiate the short&term priorities of whom to put under the pressure of re ime&#han in demands3 but the system is ri ed not to reward persuasion or a##ommodation but toward in#reasin #onfrontation! deadline diploma#y! and randstandin on prin#iples that #arry the load of bro)en #redibility' Notwithstandin the worthy efforts of the 0ra1 %tudy (roup or the ;rin#eton ;ro2e#t on Nati& onal %e#urity to et some means&to&ends rationality ba#) into $% poli#ies! politi#s are impaired by the la#) of dis#ipline and pruden#e that #ome with the reinfor#ement of the imperial mind&set of offi#ial .ashin ton by the media and thin) tan)s' $nfortunately! this mind&set is not only the definin attribute of the present administration but of both parties & and abundantly so! of the serious #ontenders for the next $% presiden& #y' They are already #ompetin in burnin the brid es to a somewhat more patient approa#h to imperial poli#ies while beratin the present administration for its wea)ness' 4ifferent #ombinations of bombin 0ran! brea)in 8e5bollah! #onfrontin the Russians! san#& tionin the +hinese! s1uee5in the %audis and ;a)istanis! pressurin the 0ndians into a sub& ordinate relationship! installin an ,a##ountable- di#tatorship in 0ra1 (andDor ta)in it apart)! are on the menu of the main #andidates & plus unfetterin $% ,soft power- and hit& #hin the allies more effe#ti*ely to whate*er load is to be pulled' 0t is therefore all too easy to see in the #urrent tra*ails of lobal diploma#y efforts to adapt to the impli#it Ameri#an #hoi#e of ,either the $% or #haos-' But the lessons are not only 0ra1 and Af hanistan! but the failed attempts of %erbia (1???)! 0ran (9::A) and %yria (on& oin )! to bow to $%D.estern demands while )eepin a measure of independen#e and di & nity' 0n fa#t! loo)in at the last 1@ years or so! at the fate of the former %o*iet $nion in the 1??:s! of the former Mu osla*ia! and of 0ra1 or Af hanistan! they may #ome to the #on#lu& sion that they ha*e nothin to lose e*en in a military #onfrontation' And sin#e the mar#h of empire is tuned to the ra#ial & alias ,#i*ili5ational- & superiority (of the ,An losphere-)! non&.estern elites may interpret this #hoi#e as ,the $% and #haos-' 0f it is their ambition 2ust to loot their #ountries and then to set&up shop in one of the .estern tax&sheltered play rounds or to turn into share#roppers of their #ountriesN resour#es! the #hoi#e is a ood one' 0f they are at all attenti*e! reasonably patrioti#! and ha*e a measure of pride! they #annot but resist it' 0t is! in the last analysis! also a 1uestion of self&esteem and a sense of histori#al a##ountabi& lity' +an elites in their ri ht mind bear to be the butt of a sardoni# witti#ism li)e the one oin around amon An lo&%axon offi#ials! tar etin the %audi #ombination of immense #orruption and payin immense prote#tion money6 the %audis ,prefer to suffo#ate on their )nees instead of dyin on their feet-'

11

But #ontempt and the lust for #haos (,#reati*e destru#tion-) ha*e be#ome the #oin of the realm' They are heated by fantasies of a lobal #aste so#iety where ,The %hield of A#hil& les-! ,0mperial (runts-! ,=eft Behind-! and ,The 4iamond A e- are busy #ross &pollinatin the imperial ima ination' One mi ht add that a ;enta on (Offi#e for Net Assessment) study of the #onse1uen#es of #limate #han e pro*ides a window into the dar)est! sur*i*alist #orner of this mind&set and implies! in addition! an answer to the 1uestions ,who is the .estL- and ,who is superfluousLThe return with a *en ean#e of the ,#o*ert operations approa#h- to $% international poli& #ies! therefore! has mu#h more to do with this sinister self&fi#tionali5ation than with the nature of threats or the simple a*ailability of the instruments' .hile for most periods of the +old .ar! #on#erns about exposure! blowba#)! and pro*o)in war with the %o*iets )ept it somewhat under #ontrol! it has slipped the leash' "*eryone who #an has one into business' 0t is not only the .hite 8ouse that is ex#eedin ly liberal in its use of pri*ateers! fre1uently retreaded intelli en#e and military offi#ials who should ha*e been disposed of out of harms way' There is the e*olution of a hu e ray 5one of pri*ate ,#onsultan#y- enterprises of former o*ernment offi#ials who parlay their international #onta#ts with state and sub&state a#tors! with insur en#ies in sear#h of ups#ale sponsorin ! and poli#y&lobbyin roups! as well as their international business #onta#ts & in parti#ular with the ener y! finan#ial! arms and se#urity industries & into business and influen#e' On returnin to o*ernment ser*i#e! their pet pro2e#ts! poli#ies and money &spinners donNt 2ust o into hibernation! they are #onti& nued as o*ernment poli#ies' The mer#handisin of imperial poli#ies and the mer#antili5a& tion of military *iolen#e ha*e be#ome the hallmar) of this stran e #ombination of militarism and *enality' One of the new breed of temporary! par*enu offi#ials demonstrated its bottom& line aspe#t with the pithy 1uestion6 ,.hat is the use of empire when you #anNt ma)e money out of itLOn the poli#y le*el! the #on#ern about blowba#) and exposure has all but disappeared! ex#ept as a weapon of bureau#rati# bloodlettin when the hunt for the s#ape oat is on' 0t #an only operate as a restraint if a sense of moderation #an be imposed and if its #onse& 1uen#es ha*e a deterrin effe#t' None of this pertains' $% poli#ies! instead! estate in the world of the mu#h&1uoted /elian 4ialo ue where a sense of impunity and omnipoten#e ha*e destroyed any re ard for pruden#e' %in#e the tyro&days of retired Air 7or#e /a2or (eneral Ri#hard %e#ords rubbin shoulders with the #o#aine mafia in order to finan#e the Ni#ara uan +ontras! this state of affairs has i*en a #ompletely new meanin to ,unleas& hin #o*ert operations-! ,plausible deniability-! and! of #ourse! to Ronald Rea anNs famous ,boys will be boys- mentality' The more *i#ious side of the problem! thou h! exposes the meltdown of the firewalls bet& ween the bran#hes of o*ernment! between the exe#uti*e bran#h and +on ress! between publi# and pri*ate! between business and o*ernment & in a wit#hes brew of pro2e#ts and interests' And no o*ernment a en#y has the #lout or the will to turn off any of the #ross& married pro2e#ts of poli#y&lobbyin ! intelli en#e and bla#) operations that a#1uired odpa& rents in o*ernment! in +on ress! or with one of the powerful lobbyin outfits' They may sin)! perhaps! below the awareness threshold of the prin#ipals! but mo*e they will unstintin ly! metamorphosin ! mutatin and spawnin des#endents in the fetid swamp of sub#ontra#tors! publi#&pri*ate intelli en#e outfits! mer#enaries! fundamentalist missionary or ani5ations! se#urity firms! to reappear someday as ,operation in pla#e-! and thus rene& win the #y#le' The %udanese troubles are a prime example of how this itinerant e#osystem produ#es and reprodu#es e*er in#reasin mayhem in wea) states #ursed with strate i# si & nifi#an#e'

19

But all of that does not e*en be in to address the destru#ti*e effe#ts of its fre1uent #onne#& tion to the underworld! of the illi#it trade in weapons! raw materials! et#! or to the lobally operatin #rime syndi#ates and their e#onomi# infrastru#ture' 0t is only lo i#al that the sele#tion of poli#y&ma)in personnel seems now to follow the 0sra& eli! 0talian! and Bapanese model! mo*in e*er deeper into the world of #lan loyalties (the neo&#onser*ati*es are only the most self&#ons#iously ,family&oriented- #lan) where the dis& tin#tion between loyalty to offi#e and loyalty to #lan disappears #ompletely at the le*el of deputy assistant se#retary' And it is startin to infe#t (ermany' Not only be#ause many #orners of the (erman forei n intelli en#e apparatus are! by desi n and tradition! bespo)e to $% and 0sraeli intelli en#e! and its politi#al #ontrol me#hanisms are sli#) e*en by .estern standards' 0t is the osmosis of bad habits *ia the demands of .estern solidarity' 0n a moment of un uarded #andor! the Berlin #orrespondent of the #onser*ati*e %wiss daily Neue IOr#her Ieitun bemoaned the unrestrained re#ruitin of 2ournalists and N(O repre& sentati*es by (erman intelli en#e as far worse than spyin on 2ournalists to plu lea)s' This #omment illuminated for a short moment one of the rooms in the sub&basement of (erman forei n poli#y' Of e*en reater salien#e for the shape of thin s to #ome is the introdu#tion into (ermany of the lin)a e of intelli en#e and business! and of both to #o*ert operations' A story is floatin around in the international media that the former head of (erman intelli en#e and #urrent member of parliament Bernd %#hmidbauer is alle edly the fa#ilitator for an 0sraeli intelli& en#e a ent turned businessman who is deeply in*ol*ed in 0sraeli pro2e#ts in 0ra1i <ur& distan' $sin %#hmidbauers #onta#ts amon the leadership of the 0ra1i <urds! the 0sraeli a ent reportedly se#ured land #ontra#ts worth many millions of dollars to i*e the <urds a reater share of the (disappeared) billions from the oil&for&food a##ount' 0t is probably 2ust an interestin ! albeit rather disin enuous #o*er&story' But whate*er the details! it is a fa#t that %#hmidbauer is usin his former offi#e for that )ind of purpose! and that is the messa e' And it is hard to 2ud e what is worse6 %#hmidbauer in*ol*ed in 0sraeli shenani ans that #onne#t #o*ert operations to business profits3 or a pri*ate *enture doin the same' The dis!on"en" wi"h German mili"ar& in)ol)emen" /ore immediate! howe*er! are #on#erns that (erman soldiers are already bein sent into open&ended missions in potentially #asualty&ri#h inter*ention en*ironments & en*ironments where Ameri#an (British and 0sraeli) poli#ies ha*e publi#ly! #ontemptuously! and irre*ersibly debau#hed 1:: years worth of international law that tried to re ulate the use of military *iolen#e' The (erman allies are runnin a )ind of so#ial&4arwinian sele#tion experiment in their militaries! to weed out the #ons#ien#e&ridden! the sus#eptible! and the whistle&blowers and to breed ba#) the mind&set of #olonial warfare a ainst ,enemy populations-! with all the reper#ussions on #i*il so#iety that this entails' The resultin mer#enary habits and ,warrior ethi#s- & moral inhibitions restrained in fa*or of ra#ial #ontempt as part of unit bondin & #annot but infe#t and then #orrode and turn the on#e restrained professional soldiers into the ,#iti5en&soldiers- of a parliamentary army' The more they are #ommitted to operations in the ,war on terror-! the more they will en#ounter the desperate hate of those who ha*e been exposed to the Ameri#an ways of pa#ifi#ation' 0n other words6 there is fear that (erman for#es will absorb this mentality by parti#ipatin in these so#iety&destroyin operations whose results #an already be seen in 0ra1! Af ha& nistan and ;alestine & and in future #ampai ns that ha*e the potential to deteriorate into annihilation warfare' The fear is not far&fet#hed6 one mi ht loo) at the do#trinal e*olution

1A

with re ard to warfare in the , lobal hettos- or! by way of example! s#rutini5e the strate& ies #onsidered and the fer*or for a war a ainst 0ran' Those with le al trainin and some histori#al awareness #annot but see parallels between what is happenin now and the 2udi#ial and propa anda preparations durin the run&up to the (erman atta#) on %o*iet Russia6 imprintin on the soldiers minds that they are oin to #onfront a sub&human! *i#ious! #ruel! and #unnin enemy3 then denyin whole #ate ories of enemy #ombatants any le al status! depri*in others of the prote#tions of the 8a ue +on*entions! and limitin the prote#tion of #i*ilians by the #ode of military 2usti#e to the bare bones of maintainin #ombat dis#ipline and pre*entin the army from turnin into a rapin ! lootin ! murderin mob (whi#h it did anyway! more often than not! espe#ially after the expe#ted short road to *i#tory turned into the lon slo towards defeat)' Thus! #lassifyin anyone as a terrorist who fi hts! or as a supporter of terrorism who #ould harbor hostile intent a ainst! or support or ani5ations 2ud ed hostile to .estern inter*enti& ons and interests! wards and dependents! simply extends the (erman experien#e of how to #reate a per*erted ius in bello from %o*iet Russia to the whole lobe' 0t aims! of #ourse! to dele itimi5e all armed (and in#reasin ly unarmed) resistan#e to .estern military expediti& ons and o##upation! e*en tryin to et international law to pros#ribe it be#ause there is a population in the way (,human shields-) of )illin the terrorists' =ess #on#erned with fin& din a way around the (ene*a +on*entions or the 2urisdi#tion of Nurembur is the inno*a& ti*e 0sraeli #on#ept of ,terrorist population-' 0t 2ust puts a new title o*er an old di#tate6 ,"xterminate with extreme pre2udi#e'0n the meantime! ettin around the (ene*a +on*entions pro*ided a #hallen in o##upation for the lawyers of the Bush Administration' They de#ided the Taliban were ,unlawful #omba& tants- & thou h they were the soldiers of a #ountry the +linton administration exer#ised hea*y pressure on (ermany to re#o ni5e & be#ause Af hanistan was a ,failed state-' "*en if Af hanistan under the Taliban would 2ustify the term ,failed state-! it is useful to )eep in mind that the .est bears a hea*y responsibility for ma)in it thus' One has only to loo) at the textboo)s and instru#tion material pro*ided to the mud2ahedin by the $% and its #o& wor)ers in the 1?F:s' ;arti#ularly disturbin ! thou h! is the deliberately transparent hypo#risy that does not #o*er but flaunts a )ind of *iolen#e that elementary #ommon sense (not to mention a sense of shame) would )eep sporadi# and isolated' But there are now tens of thousands of *i#tims of the institutionali5ed lobal ar#hipela o of bla#) torture prisons and #amps' They ha*e been sub2e#ted by a sele#t and trained for#e to the result of de#ades of resear#h into te#hni1ues of torture and sexual humiliation! as a way! one is led to belie*e! of ,searin defeat into their minds-! to spread the messa e that there is no re#ourse! no redress! no defense3 any resistan#e will 2ust hasten the transition to the *iolent dissolution of so#iety! of the under& pinnin s for a fun#tional state' /oreo*er! the ri ht to )ill at will outside this system in #o*ert free fire 5ones! to )eep the sub#ontra#tin domesti# se#urity apparatus of dependent states on torture and assassina& tion standby! #annot but herald the willful surrender of any #redible #laim by these o*ern& ments to le itima#y or #apa#ity for #reatin order' The $nited %tates and its allies are set& tin the sta e for the )ind of massi*e *iolen#e last seen in the ,pa#ifi#ation- #ampai ns in #olonial Afri#a and Asia' This time! howe*er! it is for e*eryone to see & and for 1uite a num& ber of its strate ists! this seems to be part of the purpose' The (erman politi#al #lass and the media ma)e all efforts to )eep the s#ale and ramifi#ati& ons of this system as far as possible from publi# debate and from itself3 if it deals with it at all! then it is as the una*oidable! thou h u ly! battle s#ars on the fa#e of .estern *alues' The #ontortions in*ol*ed in refusin its #onne#tion to (erman military #ommitments and the e*er more drasti#! networ)ed se#urity measures are nothin if not remar)able'

1E

There is! ne*ertheless! a bla#) thread #onne#tin (ermany to the explosion of fundamen& talist terrorism! buried in files and memories that rea#h ba#) to the late 1?K:s' At that time! (ermany sou ht to assure the as#endan#y of 0slamist ri ht&win or ani5ations o*er its lar e /uslim #ommunity! to neutrali5e the influen#e of left&win or ani5ations' The #onse1uen#es of this )ind of so#ial en ineerin are still in e*iden#e today! and mu#h bewailed by the politi& #al #lass' (ermany hosted also a substantial emi re #ommunity of fundamentalists from se#ular Arab #ountries & espe#ially from %yria' %in#e 0sraeli intelli en#e had the free run of (ermany! and parts of (erman intelli en#e (as well as its Ba*arian odfathers) were at the be#) and #all of the /ossad! re#ruitin amon the %yrian /uslim Brothers in (ermany for a terrorist #am& pai n a ainst the o*ernment of %yrian ;resident 8afe5 al&Assad #ould ha*e been #alled a 2oint operation' +o&finan#ed by %audi money! 0srael and its %outh =ebanese mer#enaries trained them in #amps in south =ebanon! ad*erti5ed at that time as the top&of &the&lea ue raduate s#hool offerin instru#tion in all these interestin te#hni1ues whi#h ma)e .estern life now so thrillin ' This operation led! of #ourse! to serious bloodlettin in %yria' The sur*i*ors either returned to (ermany! possibly as re#ruiters for the anti&%o*iet 2ihad in Af hanistan! or transferred their talents dire#tly to this new theater of .estern endea*ors Re#ruitin for sub*ersion and terrorism re1uires s#reenin ! interro ation of the bad apples and of the doubtful #ases! and holdin them for future use' (ermans helped in the s#ree& nin but a*oided the other pro#edures (at least! one may hope so)' The <hiam prison in south =ebanon was used for these purposes & for torture and prisoner&brea)in beyond the 0sraeli rule&boo) (hi h&*alue )idnappees! thou h! are still )ept in the ,bla#) win s- of 0sra& eli prisons! also desi ned to be beyond the rea#h of the already ex#eedin ly permissi*e rule&boo))' The (erman #onne#tion to 0sraeli operations rea#hed the awareness of some senior (erman bureau#rats and exposed them to the meanin of ,bla#) prison- *ia <hiam & whi#h #an be ta)en as one of the models for the Ameri#an system' The horror and re*ulsion of the sus#eptible ones had at least the effe#t of ma)in life diffi#ult for former (erman forei n affairs minister Bos#h)a 7is#her when he had to assert piously that there were ,no *iolators of human ri hts- amon the A:: =ebanese torture& and rape&artists (ermany a##epted from 0srael' The will to i noran#e that dominates the (erman debate ma)es it all too easy to sideline #on#erns about the myriad ways this system has be un to infest (ermany6 *ia its spe#ial for#es! trained in the $%! 0srael! and (reat Britain3 or the offi#er ex#han e pro ram with the $% Army eneral staff #olle e (where its ideolo i#al underpinnin s are tau ht in the writin s of 0sraeli Arabist Rafael ;atai)3 *ia the busy networ) of itinerant torture spe#ialists! bent psy#holo ists and /4s! interro ation trainers! and anthropolo ists' The politi#al prin#ipals are #olludin with it behind the ba#) of the less #ontrollable members of parliament! and fre1uently a ainst the better 2ud ment of senior #areer offi#ials' .hat be an in 9::9 as a way to show solidarity with the Ameri#ans and went into hi h ear in 9::A to rebuild brid es to the $%! transmo rified the enthusiasm of former %o#ial 4emo& #rati# interior se#retary Otto %#hily (,if they want death! they #an ha*e it-)! the #ra*enness of former forei n minister Bos#h)a 7is#her! and /er)elNs impe##able ,pro&Ameri#an- #re& dentials into an ideolo i#al pro ram to ma)e (ermany (and the "$) fit for eternal war a ainst the enemies of the .est' 7or de#ades! (ermany! li)e the Netherlands! %weden! and Norway! mana ed to be re arded as more of a lobal so#ial wor)er than as one of the #losest Ameri#an allies' 0ts role was well ser*ed by )eepin aloof from military inter*entions! sti#)in s#rupulously to its #ommit& ments! stri*in to #oopt the moderni5in elites of de*elopin #ountries into the .estern

1J

system! e*en at the pri#e of hi h politi#s )eepin itself i norant of its netherworlds doin s! and of sometimes di*er in from $% poli#ies' (ermanyNs ood name was a net pro*ider of le itima#y for the .est' But under the new dispensation when the netherworld has be#ome the main show and the #ompensatory human ri hts rhetori# an e*er more strident exer#ise in hypo#risy! le itima#y seems to #ome from impunity' And the Ameri#an politi#al #lass has no more patien#e with di*er ent interests! #laims of independent 2ud ment! or ,de#ent respe#t for the opinion of man)ind-' The dis!on"en"s wi"h German-Israeli ,oin"ness =ast year! (ermany inserted itself militarily into the /iddle "asts troubles with a na*al s1uadron off the =ebanese #oast' 0ts mission6 to pre*ent the replenishment of 8e5bollah armament sto#)s from the o#ean' 0t has openly ta)en sides! notwithstandin its sub rosa allian#e with 0srael for de#ades! thus be#omin part of a problem without a solution' Not only a ma2ority of the population refuses to support the (erman #ommitment3 it is also a##ompanied by the mis i*in s of 1uite a number of professionals & for ood reasons' One of them is rooted in the #on*i#tion that the poundin the $% and 0srael are infli#tin on the /iddle "ast is lo#)in the .est into an unendin #y#le of *iolen#e' 4ri*in it is 0sraels inability to #onsider pea#e more desirable than )eepin its #on1uests' Thou h it would be a real #areer )iller to admit to fears that 0srael mi ht use! or i nite itself! another #onfla ra& tion in the /iddle "ast to resol*e its ;alestinian problem on#e and for all & and! at the same time! to destroy all #hallen es to its he emony & it is impossible not to be aware of this pro& spe#t' 0t informs #on#erns about the impa#t of the ,war of #i*ili5ations- rhetori# that (erman (and "uropean) opinion leaders are spreadin in the media3 a rhetori#!that #an turn any moment into a free ti#)et for the 0sraeli leadership to et serious about what it has pre& pared its allies to expe#t and what a ma2ority of its population demands' 0n fa#t! indi#ators that the 0sraelis mi ht limit their ambition to establishin a Bantustan&li)e system run by the 4ahlan&Balusha oon s1uads of 7atah appears to be ta)en by offi#ial (er& many as testimony to admirable and forward&loo)in 0sraeli restraint & to be en#oura ed! le itimi5ed! and paid for to )eep the 0sraelis from ,a#ts of desperation-' The use of the term ,Bantustan- in this #ontext has nothin to do with an anti&semiti# slur6 when former %outh Afri#an premier and Na5i sympathi5er Bohn Corster *isited 0srael in 1?K@! %himon ;eres! /ena#hem Be in! Mit5ha) Rabin! Mit5ha) %hamir! et al! lauded the %outh Afri#an system of ra#ial separation as a role model for dealin with ,their )ushims(,ni ers-)' And the #onser*ati*e part of the (erman politi#al #lass (espe#ially in Ba*aria! where the rather in#estuous relationship between (erman intelli en#e and the +hristian %o#ial $nion had sired its own forei n poli#y priorities) was deeply in*ol*ed in the strate i# #ooperation between 0srael and %outh Afri#a' "xamples in#lude support for the /o5ambi#an National Resistan#e (Renamo) & also dubbed the ,<hmer Noir- for startin the Afri#an pla& ue of re#ruitin small #hildren by traumati5ation & to ./4 resear#h! to the ille al transfer of blueprints for a new #lass of #ruise&missile #apable submarines' 0n the 1??:s! by the way! (ermany donated se*eral of these submarines to 0srael' 4urin the 1?K:s and 1?F:s 0srael and %outh Afri#a were 2oined at the hips in their #ommon fi ht a ainst the )ushims (and a ainst the still numerous Bewish #ommunists! hated by the 0sraeli politi#al #lass more than the remainin (erman Na5is)' And from some (erman #onser*ati*e noo)s and #rannies! there was always fa#ilitation! s#ientifi# support! or #o&finan#in a*ailable' But the abo*e&board (erman support for 0srael has also a tradition of un#onditionality & sin#e the 1?K:s espe#ially & in #o &finan#in the 0sraeli ways of o##upation and ne*er hol& din 0srael to its obli ations under the (ene*a +on*entions' 4urin the %#hmidt and <ohl o*ernments it was tempered! ne*ertheless! by their #ommitment ,to fa#ilitate dialo ue-'

1@

/u#h of the reportin from the (erman embassy ser*ed to (erman assistan#e #ould ma)e a differen#e in en#oura in and #hosen ;alestinian interlo#utors '

au e where and when dis#rete #onta#t between offi#ial 0srael

$nder (reen neo#onser*ati*e forei n minister 7is#her! thou h! not only #ontext had #han& ed' 8e threw the prin#iple of differentiation out of the window' 8e #hose himself as the main propa andist of 0sraeli #laims that ;alestinian *iolen#e had nothin to do with the o##upation but with the failure of ;alestinian leadership and institutions! with forei n insti& ation (led by 0ran and %yria)! and that 0srael is under ,existential threat- by a tide of anti& semitism rooted in #ultural and politi#al retardation' As rumor has it! he e*en forbade any in&house dis#ussion that went #ounter to his *iew of the world! *aluin 0sraeli (or $%) inst& ru#tion mu#h hi her than the briefin s of his des) offi#ers' At any rate! ,un#onditional support- #ame to mean no more in&house dissonan#es in ana& lysis or 2ud ment from the ,solitary- interpretation of 0sraeli poli#ies! moti*ations! and their #onse1uen#es' The /er)el o*ernment then s#rewed ti ht 7is#herNs proa#ti*e approa#h towards un#onditionality & not only in supportin audibly and ener eti#ally last years efforts to destroy 8e5bollah! but wor)in up toward military in*ol*ement on the 0sraeli side3 its pre#ise meanin will be#ome mu#h #learer with the next round of war' The dire#tion of (ermanyNs in*ol*ement! thou h! is unambi uous6 (ermany #olluded a*idly in pre*entin an early end to the 0sraeli #ampai n (durin the Rome +onferen#e) and left no doubt about its underwritin the 0sraeli ri ht to )ill and )idnap in =ebanon at will' 0n addition! in a au#he effort to rally publi# support for inter*ention on the 0sraeli side! /er)el dubbed (ermanyNs na*al deta#hment in =ebanese waters (as well as the expanded $nited Nations 0nterim 7or#e in =ebanons presen#e on the round) as an ,0srael ;rote#tion 7or#e-' 0t oes without sayin that (ermanys assistan#e for 0sraeli operations in =ebanon! 0ra1i <urdistan! and 0ran (in all three (ermany has a hea*y intelli en#e presen#e) has rown in s#ope and ris)' Now! support for 0sraeli pro2e#ts appears not any lon er to be limited to #oordinatin poli& #ies and information! or pro*idin (erman passports for 0sraeli under#o*er wor) in 0ran (as had been reported in 4er %pie el)! or a pipeline to a ents in =ebanese (eneral %e#urity (tra#)in 8e5bollah leaders) or! for that matter! to ta)in the lead in poisonin the initial in*esti ations into the assassination of =ebanese prime minister Rafi) 8ariri (whi#h was not the be innin but a se#ond spi)e in a series of assassinations & the first one bein the 9::9 bombin of former =ebanese militia leader and %yrian politi#ian "li 8obei)a ! who alle edly intended to testify in Brussels a ainst Ariel %haron #on#ernin the 1?F9 %abra and %hatila massa#re)' (ermany seems to ha*e 2umped with both feet into the se#tarian *iolen#e ame! not (yetL) with hits but by sla*in at different le*els of re ional en a ements to the #ommands of 0sraeli and! to a more limited extent! to Ameri#an operations' 0f 0sraels ambassador in Berlin! %himon %tein! had not re#)oned with the domesti# #ons& traints on offi#ial (ermanys solidarity with 0srael! he #ould #laim for (ermany what Busti#e /inister 8aim Ramon and 4aniel Ayalon! 0sraels ambassador in .ashin ton! asserted blandly for the $% last year6 ,P e*en if our army should #ommit a Qmass massa#re! the $nited %tates will still support us- (1uoted in =e /onde 4iplomati1ue)' 0n fa#t! in earlier days offi#ial (ermany would ha*e loo)ed dis#reetly away or apolo i5ed ,off the re#ord- for the 0sraeli pen#hant for atro#ities su#h as the <far >ana massa#re in south =ebanon & whi#h 0srael ne*er made a real effort to hide under its pe#uliar do#trine of deterren#e' As (eneral /otta (ur said as lon a o as 1?KF6 ,''' the 0sraeli army has always stru#) #i*ilian populations purposely and #ons#iously P the army P has ne*er distin uished #i*ilian Rfrom militaryS tar ets- (1uoted in 8aaret5)' Now 0srael is demandin that offi#ial (ermany demonstrate the #orre#t attitude a ainst ,terrorist populations- & and it does! in the name of the ,stru le a ainst terrorism- and of pre*entin (T) ,a war of #i*ili5ations-'

1K

7or ob*ious reasons! (ermanys ori inal e#onomi# support for 0srael #ould ne*er ha*e been #onsidered le*era e' But o*er the de#ades! its dimension and its a re ate impa#t #ontribu& ted de#isi*ely to the fa#t that 0srael had ne*er to ma)e hard #hoi#es3 it subsidi5ed the built& in maximalism in 0sraels approa#h toward its nei hborhood and the pretension that its wars of #hoi#e were wars for sur*i*al' %eparate from the mea er indi*idual re#ompensations! restitutions! et#! as mana ed (*ery badly for the destitute) by the Bewish +laims +onferen#e or the 0sraeli state! (erman trans& fers up to now amount to at least 1E: billion euros ($%U1?A '9 billion) from the federal o*ernment in #ash! oods! weapons and patents! another 9: to A: billion euros in publi#& pri*ate partnership arran ements! plus billions more *ia "$ me#hanisms' 0t is not surprisin ! therefore! that there is an uneasy awareness of (erman #o&responsibi& lity in fosterin the #ombination of e#onomi# dependen#e! forei n funded militarism and the pe#uliar and ex#eedin ly #orrupt nature of the 0sraeli ;raetorian state' The permanent state of sie e and its steadily more powerful ra#ist under#urrents ha*e be#ome the sour#e of its #ohesion and define its relationship to the world' As anyone )nows who is a#1uainted with the 0sraeli debate! the old mantra that 0srael will ma)e the ,#on#essions ne#essary for pea& #e- if it feels suffi#iently se#ure and supported! is ood for publi# #onsumption and perhaps self&hypnosis! but nothin else' %in#e 0srael mana ed to persuade the .estern politi#al #lasses (the most fra ile and #orrupt Arab re imes need no #on*in#in ) that ;alestinians aspirations & as well as their ri hts under the (ene*a +on*entions & are unrealisti# and therefore basi#ally ille itimate! they ha*e be#ome a sideshow' "spe#ially "urope appears resol*ed to stabili5e it in limbo with lip ser*i#e and sporadi# shows of a#ti*ism & but with hard support! of #ourse! for those 0sraeli measures desi ned to brea) the last strands of ;alestinian politi#al and so#ial #ohesion' As any under raduate in #oer#i*e so#ial en ineerin )nows! destroyin the so#ial and e#o& nomi# infrastru#ture of a so#iety to the extent that there are no more sour#es of indepen& dent so#ial authority that #ould re enerate or ani5ed resistan#e! lea*es the field to the bro& )en! the #yni#s! the #orrupt! the self&haters! the fantasists! and the #riminals & and infli#ts them on a dispirited! disposable mass of humanity' The 0ranian as#endan#y! in #ontrast! is billed as the main show' And it was 7is#her (ably assisted by 7ran#e and (reat Britain) who too) the lead in na*i atin the "uropean ne otia& tin position between the Ameri#an&0sraeli push for war and the need to a*oid it in *iew of the to&be&expe#ted domesti# reper#ussions3 between the resol*e to deny the 0ranian ri ht to #lose the nu#lear fuel #y#le and to hide the bad faith of their ne otiatin approa#h' 7is#her made the issue repeatedly #lear6 the 0ranian nu#lear pro ram si nals the will to a#hie*e ,re ional he emony- to the detriment of the 0sraeli & and for him! the only le iti& mate one & #laim to re ional predominan#e' .hen the o*ernment of then&0ranian president /ohammad <hatami offered in 9::A! pra#& ti#ally hat&in&hand! to ne otiate with the $% all outstandin bilateral problems & only to be refused! as he was part of the ,axis of e*il- & this was absorbed in a "uropean proposal! that offered *a ue promises and no se#urity uarantees! for the dismantlin of the whole 0ranian nu#lear #omplex (in#ludin the #ourses and trainin in ad*an#ed nu#lear en i& neerin )! plus the hobblin of its missile pro ram' Throu h the subterfu es and permutations of these ne otiations! the (erman #ommitment to a pea#eful resolution was always hi hly #onditional! and 0srael a#1uired somethin li)e a behind&the&s#enes *eto on the limits of the (erman position' 0t #ould (and #an) well appre& #iate that for (ermany & praised by 0sraeli ;rime /inister "hud Olmert as the best 0sraeli ally & to 2oin a war a ainst 0ran would at that time ha*e destroyed 7is#herNs (reen ;arty as well as the o*ernment (and it still mi ht do so now)3 not to 2oin it would ha*e #reated another trans&Atlanti# rift! mu#h deeper than the one #aused by the 0ra1 war' %u#h rifts

1F

ha*e a lo i# of their own and the potential to deeply fra#ture the (erman (and "uropean) politi#al lands#ape' The (erman politi#al #lass is hamstrun and duly embarrassed o*er the la#) of martial spirit in its population' But under the banner of ,anythin but war (now)-! it maneu*ers and waits for the ri ht #onstellation that frees its hand6 a .estern uproar o*er a (ulf of Ton)in& type in#ident! a ma2or terrorist e*ent in the $% or (ermany! whi#h will ha*e nothin to do with 0ran but #ould #reate the ri ht popular mood' 0t #ompensates in the meantime with (erman o*ert and #o*ert in*ol*ement for 0sraels willin ness not to put 1uite yet (erman domesti# politi#s to the test' Ne*ertheless! after so many aborted mo*es toward war! the ,war now- party in the $% may any time push the Bush administration o*er the brin) and tell the (ermans to deal with it or e*en ma)e it a test of the /er)el o*ernmentNs sur*i*a& bility and pro&Ameri#an stan#e' Dis!on"en" wi"h "he seedin# of f$"$re !onfli!"s ;aul .olfowit5 noted with satisfa#tion in 1??? (in The National 0nterest) that his =one& Ran er position of 1??9 had turned into the bi&partisan #onsensus of $% rand strate y6 ne*er to permit a ain a power! or #ombination of powers! on the "urasian landmass to a#hie*e the #apa#ity to a#t as a ,peer #hallen er- to $% interests' And it is this prin#iple that the "uropean politi#al elites are about to underwrite! too' 0ts apolo eti#s are tried out in wor)in & and study& roups6 demo#ra#y and free mar)ets #an only ta)e root when the Russian state is depri*ed of the e#onomi#! so#ial! and demo raphi# resour#es for its re#ons& titution as a *iable (,imperial-) power3 and +hina! for the same reasons! has to be disse#& ted into fi*e independent states' And all of this by the ri ht #ombination of applyin hard (o*erwhelmin military) and soft (dissol*in elite and re ime #ohesion) power' These are! of #ourse! 2ust fond hopes or sellin points' 0n reality! it is a pres#ription for de#ades of #haos and *iolen#e! with a deep impa#t on "urope and Asia' But e*en these & one mi ht #all them ;lan B & prospe#ts may ha*e mu#h to re#ommend themsel*es from the Ameri#an perspe#ti*e! and they offer e*en an absolutely #on*in#in ! thou h diffi#ult to pit#h! strate i# rationale for de*elopin a lobal ballisti# missile defense networ)' 0t is this #onsensus! ne*ertheless! that pro*ides the only reliable uide to the #ourse of $% poli#ies towards Russia and +hina & and insi ht into the nature of the ,hed es- a ainst the worsenin of relations be it with Russia! be it with +hina! or both' %in#e bein tou her on national se#urity than the next uy (or irl) or the sittin administration! is the #oin of nati& onal strate y debates between Republi#ans and 4emo#rats as well as the ultimate arbiter of the #areer prospe#ts for ele#ted offi#e! ,hed in - has not mu#h to do with ta)in out insu& ran#e' 0t has! instead! e*erythin to do with bein able to initiate #onfrontations' ,8ed in - with re ard to +hina hi hli hts this approa#h' The massi*e buildin of depth into the Ameri#an military dispositions in the .estern ;a#ifi#! the pressures upon Taiwan to et on with its $%U19&1F billion arms buyin pro ram! the su##ess in inte ratin the Taiwanese as well as the in#reasin ly offensi*e Bapanese posture into Ameri#an operations plans! ent& i#in 0ndia into sharpenin its strate i# profile a ainst +hina! are sold as measures for Asian stability' This is! howe*er! e*erythin that the haw)s of the ,#onfront&+hina- lobby e*er demanded! minus the dama e to $%&+hinese e#onomi# relations' These ,hed es- are not desi ned to wor) as an insuran#e me#hanism but as the ro#) slide o*erhan in +hinas #ontinuously narrowin path between a sheer #liff fa#e and the abyss' /ore prosai#ally! whene*er Ameri#as internal bar ainin #omes up with the a#e of spades for +hina! ,full spe#trum dominan#e- should be in pla#e' Or so one mi ht thin)' The prob& lem! howe*er! is the destabili5in #onse1uen#es of the effort in ettin there' The +hinese #annot but rea#t to what they surely appre#iate as the tailorin of a strate i# strait2a#)et to immobili5e them for *i*ise#tion! ie! ,soft- re ime #han e'

1?

%imilar #onsiderations hold with re ard to Russia' The expansion of NATO to members of the former .arsaw ;a#t and to the Balti# #ountries! as well as the anti#ipated one to the $)ra& ine and (eor ia! are e1ually sold as a 2oist of "urasias se#urity ar#hite#ture' 0roni#ally enou h! the same rationale is i*en for the (erman&led efforts to draw the +entral Asian and +au#asian republi#s & and! in parti#ular! the +aspian resour#es & out of the Russian into the .estern orbit' 0n this! Russias ,true! le itimate interests- are bein ser*ed be#ause this pro#ess en#oura es demo#ra#y! a##ountable o*ernment! respe#t for human ri hts! and the non&*iolent resolution of territorial #onfli#ts' The ton ue&in&#hee) #hara#ter of the ,stability- rhetori# re*eals itself most #learly in the hasbara about the ,missile shield- installations in ;oland and the +5e#h Republi#! ostensibly dire#ted a ainst in#ipient threats from North <orea (whi#h is in the pro#ess of denu#leari& 5in itself) and 0ran (whose threat potential a ainst the $% is as phantasma ori#al as its supposed intentions are fi#tional)' They are sold to mass media #onsumers as insuran#e a ainst the familiar ,madmen-3 to the more dis#ernin audien#e as not dire#ted a ainst Russia (and Russian #omplaints are sold as Russian mis#hief&ma)in )! and to the more wor& ried western "uropean insiders! in #lassified briefin s! as a ,hed e- with rowth potential to dissuade the e*olution of a reater than expe#ted Russian or +hinese threat' 0n reality! as e*en the more odfearin obser*ers of $% poli#ies #annot help but noti#e! it is a pro*o#ati*e mo*e desi ned to trap the Russians into easily denoun#able! but helpless estures of protest and to put the onus on them for burdenin further the "$&Russian rela& tionship' And Russia has no way to e*ade the trap6 ret#h or spit! down it will o' At the same time! it in#reases the politi#al wei ht of Ameri#as main allies in "astern "uro& pe' 0t pro*ides the substan#e for ali nin ;oland and the +5e#h Republi# (plus their Balti# retinue) e*er #loser with $% poli#ies & a $%&dependent sub&NATO within a sub&"$' 0n the short term! this issue #annot but further wea)en the already fra mentin will of the western "uropean part of the "$ to ne otiate (in ood faith) a su##essor to the partnership and #ooperation a reement between the "$ and Russia' 0n the lon er run! the substantial Ameri#an military presen#e these two installations re1uire! will ti hten the strate i# noose around Russias throat' 0n addition! if the $% should really pla#e an additional installation in (eor ia! this mo*e would deliberately put the detonator for a $%&Russian #onfrontation into the hands of the re#)less and irresponsible (eor ian leadership' 0n this #ontext! $% %e#retary of %tate +ondolee55a Ri#es slip of the ton ue in termin Russia ,the %o*iet $nion- is not only 7reudian but a de#laration of intent' The <a#5yns)i twins! ;resident =e#h and ;rime /inister Baroslaw of ;oland respe#ti*ely! also let e*eryone ha*e a pee) at the #at in the ba ' 0n hi h dud eon that its partners in NATO and the "$ as well as the Russians mi ht want to ha*e a say in su#h a momentous de#ision! they maintained that the missile shield should not worry any ,normal #ountry-' But Russia! ob*iously! is nothin if not an ,abnormal- #ountry for the ri ht&win ma2ority of the ;olish politi#al #lass6 still indi nant that Russia spoilt the imperial dreams (;oland from the Balti# to the Bla#) %ea) that led (eneral Bosef ;ilsuds)i to atta#) Russia in 1?9:! only to be defeated by the trea#herous Reds3 still resentful that .orld .ar 00 did not be in and end differently than it did3 resentin that it has not yet mana ed a pla#e at the .estern hi h table! they expe#t the $nited %tates to pro#ure them! at least! a spe#ial role within NATO (it re#ently bla#)mailed for itself a spe#ial position in the "$)! and further down the line! a 5one of ;olish influen#e & from the Balti# to the Bla#) %ea & and the ri ht of first loo) for any territorial bits that may be on offer if or when Russia dissol*es further (e ! the re ion of <alinin rad)' Ciewin these efforts in their full s#ope while )eepin in mind the in#essant din of media hostility a ainst Russia (not for ettin the pro*o#ati*e mixture of subtle and #rass intelli& en#e operations)! all of this is loo)in less li)e a hed e than mo*in the pie#es for the end&

9:

ame' One re#ent report of the well #onne#ted! $%&based! pri*ate intelli en#e a en#y! %tra& te i# 7ore#astin ! 0n# or %tratfor! on ,The New =o i# for Ballisti# /issile 4efense-! spells it out rather bluntly6 ,P RTShe $% is not yet finished with /os#ow from a strate i# perspe#ti& *e' .ashin ton wants to pressure Russia until its will! as well as its ability! to pose a *iable threat #ompletely disinte rates'- And the Russians are 1uite aware of the *e#tor of $% poli& #ies' Russian ;resident Cladimir ;utins spee#h at the se#urity #onferen#e in /uni#h! e*en /i)al (orba#he*Ns re#ent inter*entions as well as Calentin 7alins widely dis#ussed somber analysis last year! tell the same story' They are up a ainst the wall and ha*e neither time nor ood options' As (ermanys ;eter %tru#)! the %o#ial 4emo#rati# former se#retary of defense and #urrent parliamentary whip! rather smu ly! maintained6 ,The Russians would lose another +old .ar-' This in response to the , obbledy oo)- of ;utins list of rie*an#es at the /uni#h #onferen#e in 7ebruary' A flash&poll! by the way! did show that a ma2ority of (ermans seems to ha*e rasped its import and a ma2ority e*en supported ;utins sentiments! in spite of the ex#eedin ly dero& atory #horus of the (erman media' There is some worry that all of this mi ht push the Russians into the arms of the +hinese' 0t tou#hes! thou h! the outer limits of what is #onsidered a le itimate worry' But there is the #omfortin notion that for su#h a rather fundamental re*ision of its forei n poli#y! Russia is neither stron and reliable enou h to perform it! nor are the Russian elites ready to support it' .or)in toward a #loser Russian&+hinese relationship & and )nowin that +hina will turn out to be the stron er partner (howe*er #arefully the +hinese may defer to Russian sensiti& *ities ) & for a measure of se#urity and independen#e! would re1uire not only despair! but a sea&#han e in attitudes of the loot&#orroded! fantasist and #yni#al ma2ority of the new Rus& sian elites' As the wa says in 0nfluen#e 1:16 ,Mou #an always et to the elite Russians3 half of them hate /other Russia be#ause ;etersbur and /os#ow arent ;aris or =ondon3 the other half hate her be#ause she spawned the first half'0t helps! of #ourse! that .estern intelli en#e and 1uasi&N(Os are )eepin the Russian leadership worried about domesti# stability' To enri#h its options! the .est maintains influ& en#e also with the xenophobi# ri ht! anti&+hinese liberals! with the fi hters for +he#hen independen#e and others interested in ethni# strife ames' /eanwhile the ,new Russianshope! a ainst all odds! that "urope mi ht still #ome around to pro*ide the )ind of safe an#hora e a ainst hostile poli#ies (ermany and 7ran#e seemed able to offer in 9::9D9::A and thus res#ue their rent&funded! #osmopolitan dreams' All of this is #lose enou h to reality to foster the illusion the Russians #an be mana ed3 it 2ust needs a little less ob*ious #ontempt and he#torin and a little bit more #ooperati*e rhe& tori# to satisfy their #ra*in for respe#t' This is more hope than reality! thou h & hope that will be disappointed! espe#ially sin#e .estern politi#s and the *enomously Russophobe media will ma)e sure that the Russians are always aware of the sta)e whi#h is to be dri*en throu h their #olle#ti*e heart' There is! of #ourse! also the +hinese perspe#ti*e' Those .estern +hina analysts from whi#h its (erman se#tion ta)es its #ue seem to draw some satisfa#tion from obser*in +hina and Russia hands wonderin whether the Russian leadership is still in thrall to its .estern hopes and whether it is not #ontinuin to #ommit slow sui#ide' These 1uestions are not unreasona& ble' Russia is in*estin e*erywhere while it has not yet e*en restored its e#onomy to the le*els of 1?F?' 0ts industries! infrastru#ture! resear#h! edu#ation! and health are still suffe& rin from #atastrophi# underin*estment' %in#e the .est or ani5ed and o*ersaw the li1uefa#tion of %o*iet assets and their hemorrha& in out of Russia to the tune of about $%UF:: billion worth of #ash! oods! and patents (in#ludin Boris Mel5ins ift to the $% of the #rown 2ewels of %o*iet military and spa#e te#hnolo ies)! as well as tens of thousands of its best en ineers and s#ientists! one mi ht thin) it would do all to re#o*er from a disaster at least as bad as what (ermany did to the

91

%o*iet $nion in .orld .ar 00! and form a pea#e worse than the one of the Brest&=ito*s) Treaty of 1?1F' But e*en here! .estern poli#ies ma)e sure that Russians and +hinese #annot but per#ei*e the be innin s of the mobili5ation for e#onomi# warfare a ainst both of them' All of a sud& den in*estment barriers a ainst +hinese and Russian #apital appear in the $% and in wes& tern "urope' There are substantial efforts de*oted to #oordinate the rollin &ba#) of +hinese en#roa#hment on the .estern ri ht to Afri#an raw materials & in the name of human ri hts and ood o*ernan#e (whi#h is li)e Bluebeard! still nawin on his latest *ir ins femur! #omplainin about a peasant who sullies his next lun#h with exploiti*e marria e proposals)' And there is the hue and #ry raised about the Russian and +hinese doin what the $% is doin ex#essi*ely6 mar)in #ertain industrial se#tors as ,strate i#-' The +hinese .estern analysts are 1uite astute obser*ers of where their .estern #ounter& parts are #omin from' But edu#ated under the all&en#ompassin need to ain time and stren th to be able to sur*i*e loomy eopoliti#al weather! the +hinese debate about Russia and the .est 2ust e#hoes the more salient debate6 whether they are able to influen#e Ameri#an (.estern) per#eptions and rea#tions to +hinas rise! at what pri#e! and for how lon ' There are still those! fre1uently hi hli hted in .estern wor)shops! 1uotin Russian *oi#es about the impossibility of Russian&+hinese strate i# #ooperation! referrin obli1uely and with the due amount of nostal ia! to the olden a e of +hinese&Ameri#an strate i# #ooperation a ainst the %o*iets! and wonderin audibly whether its resurre#tion mi ht not promise another dawn in +hinese relations with the .est' But one does not need to #arefully examine these debates' Thou h there is no audien#e for bad messa es! it has not es#aped the attention of the professional worriers that Russian and +hinese de#ision&ma)ers seem to ha*e #on#luded that they fa#e a similar and eopoliti& #ally #onne#ted future' They may expe#t to be able to delay or blunt it but #annot e*ade it' The #ontinuous .estern efforts to le*era e elite dissent as well as to for#e& row and room alternati*e elites (with their typi#al mixture of *enality and blind idealism) in an in#reasin ly worsenin se#urity en*ironment! ha*e hardened the #on*i#tion that they are up a ainst a strate y to enable repeats of the %o*iet #ollapse' 0ndi#ators for the expe#tations of Russian and +hinese de#ision&ma)ers are per#olatin throu h their forei n poli#y and military bureau#ra#ies and are bein pi#)ed up6 the elimi& nation! defeat! or terminal neutrali5ation of the one will be the be innin of the same fate for the other' And they seem to feel that this is bein imposed on them3 it has not mu#h to do with their #hoi#e of poli#ies' The be innin s of a #o&e*olution of their strate i# do#trines! therefore! has to be ta)en seriously' They dont #are about fa#in the full ran e of Ameri#an military power but thin) about how to stymie and defeat its deployment in the in#ipient sta es of operations' 8ow to de*elop a posture #apable of infli#tin massi*e losses on $% air power and #arrier roups without re1uirin a hair&tri er posture seems to draw a lot of attention' There appears to be e*en a debate about preemption' .ith re ard to nu#lear deterren#e! it appe& ars to be mo*in toward a marria e between massi*e retaliation and different options of ,te#hnolo i#al de#apitation- (ie! destroyin sele#ti*ely the netspa#e of military #ommand and #ontrol as well as its fallba#) operations! plus re ime and elite #ontinuity fun#tions)' 0n order to et a better understandin of its present strate i# predi#ament! the Russian mili& tary has e*en be un to approa#h! *ery in erly! the #auses for the erosion of %o*iet deter& ren#e in the 1?F:s! espe#ially the reasons why it #ould not rea#t by in#reasin its for#e rea& diness to what it per#ei*ed as indi#ations of An lo&Ameri#an maneu*erin towards war' But whate*er the s#enarios for the future or the probin s of the past! Russia as well as +hina are for the foreseeable future mu#h too wea) to #ompete militarily at eye le*el with the .est' Both ha*e to stru le uphill 2ust to ma)e their militaries #redible defenders of the

99

inte rity of the state' And there is almost no military ba#)up for the politi#al tas) of pre*en& tin a further deterioration of their strate i# en*ironment' They #an neither rely on their ability to defle#t the $% from efforts to #ontrol it nor #ould they #ompete for #ontrol without mort a in the sur*i*al of the state' 0t is the pau#ity of their military and politi#al #hoi#es that dri*es them to ether3 but the need to a*oid the hair tri er of Ameri#an #onfrontation renders an expli#it military allian#e impra#ti#al' The Russians )now it! the +hinese )now it' And strate y&minded Ameri#ans #ount on the fa#t that a thin mattress ma)es bad bedfellows' But they also )now that Ameri#an politi#s are not strate y&minded3 they enerate their own stimuli for a#tion' After the Russian 1??:s & and the +hinese 1E? years after 1FE: & no illusions are possible about the fate either of them should the .est a ain ain #ontrol o*er their polities' This plus their wea)ness! howe*er! should assist not only the #redibility of a defensi*e nu#lear post& ure but also i*e the "uropeans or the Bapanese reasons to thin) about the #onse1uen#es of strate i# desperation' Below this threshold! thou h! it is all #oer#i*e bar ainin & be it under the uise of #ommon interests or in the open! ,2ump! or else-' There are no #ommon inter& ests! there is 2ust 2o#)eyin for position and deferred hostility' .hen 8enry <issin er and Me* eny ;rima)o* established their 2oint wor)in & roup of Ameri#an and Russian elder statesmen to deal with ,the threat of nu#lear terrorism and proliferation- (as <issin er des#ribed it)! there is! therefore! a subtext6 ,.or) with us re ardin 0ran (or the e*entual ,se#urin - of ;a)istani nu#lear warheads) be#ause the first instan#e of nu#lear terrorism #ould ta)e pla#e in Russia'- One does not need to be of a wildly paranoid #ast of mind to see the possibilities! e ! in *iew of the *ery #lose relations the British maintain with the +he#hen resistan#e! and the do5ens of tons of %o*iet warhead material still waitin to be rewor)ed into nu#lear fuel rods' The point is! there is no need for e*en an implied spe#ifi# messa e' The awareness of so many fin ers on so many operational tri ers is 1uite suffi#ient for the prudent assumption6 ,.hat is thin)able! is possible3 what is possible will happen! sometime! somewhere'- 0n the meantime! one has to a#t as if some sort of reason and predi#tability mi ht yet return to the exer#ise of Ameri#an power' The (erman edu#ated middle #lasses! still hun o*er from their half #entury of ideolo i#al debau#he and from (ermanys role as a eno#idal o re ta)e reat satisfa#tion in their #ountrys reputation as a mostly harmless lobal so#ial wor)er' They are relu#tant to sub& s#ribe to an ideolo y of lobal mayhem and a ,defense of .estern *alues-' But the (erman media are wor)in o*ertime to #han e their minds'

9A

GERMANY, THE RE-ENGINEERED ALLY

Par" -: Hail "o "he .hief, or else By Axel Brot Hois"in# "he Ameri!an fla# (ermany had honed its ability to fly below the radar of international #ontro*ersy to a fine art' 0ts dependen#e on forei n trade for its e#onomi# well&bein re1uired this and it resis& ted! moreo*er! for most of the last E: years rather su##essfully Ameri#an attempts to sub& 2e#t its e#onomi# relations with the world to the more extra*a ant demands of e#onomi# warfare' No wonder! therefore! that the detente years of the 1?K:s and the lobali5ation of the 1??:s are remembered with fondness' (erman e#onomi# interests and the philanthropi# basso #ontinuo of its de#laratory forei n poli#y were in tune' No wonder! too! that .ashin & ton re ards these (4;&#ored sentimentalities as #ompletely out&of&tune with rousin the .est a ainst the ,enemies of .estern *alues-' After the sho#)s the (erman politi#al #lass suffered in 9::9D9::A! it a reed! be it out of #on*i#tion! opportunism or fear! with the *iews of the Ameri#an politi#al #lass' But as poll after poll re*eals! both ha*e to deal with the fa#t that they are the opposite of rather funda& mental attitudes of the ma2ority of (ermans' (ermany has ladly internali5ed what was prea#hed o*er the de#ades in politi#al %unday sermons about pea#e and prosperity! about the role of (ermany in the modern world! its relationship with the .est and! in parti#ular! what )ind of so#iety (ermany should aspire to' This messa e has not only mana ed to ta)e hold3 it has be#ome the prism throu h whi#h many! if not most! (ermans loo) at the world! at the o*ernment! the media & and! not least! at the $%' This is neither surprisin nor extraordinary' The (erman lower #lasses ha*e always been *ery relu#tant heroes! ha*in been dra ed sullenly into the two world wars' 0t e*en too) all the efforts of the %o#ial 4emo#rati# and union leaderships to #rush the rassroots mo*e& ment for a eneral stri)e that was about to disrupt the mobili5ation s#hedule of the (erman army in the run&up to .orld .ar 03 and Na5i domesti# intelli en#e do#umented their distin#t la#) of enthusiasm when (ermany atta#)ed ;oland and the sense of fear and forebodin when (ermany went on to eradi#ate Bewish Bolshe*ism' The (erman edu#ated middle #lasses! still hun o*er from their half #entury of ideolo i#al debau#h with its 2in oism! imperialism and Na5ism! from (ermanys role as a eno#idal o re! and still rememberin its war fri ht from the 1?F:s & that! by the way! had rea#hed deeply into the politi#al #lass itself as well as into the senior le*els of the (erman military & a#1uired a reflexi*e pa#ifism and ta)e! in eneral! reat satisfa#tion in (ermanys reputation as a mostly harmless lobal so#ial wor)er' They are! to say the least! *ery diffi#ult to et a ain behind a pro ram of endless (ra#e) wars! torture and an ideolo y of lobal mayhem' A stron ma2ority may e*en resist it a#ti*ely *ia another pea#e mo*ement if the (erman o*ernment ets too ea er! or too blatant! about demonstratin militarily its #ommitment to the lobal ,defense of .estern *alues-' (erman pundits & ,opinion&ma)ers- in (erman & ta)e all this as an expression of deeply& rooted! popular ,anti&Ameri#anism-! and anti&Ameri#anism as a fa#et of anti&semitism! and both as the resur en#e of anti&.estern! pro&totalitarian attitudes' This effort in uilt& mon erin has led to some interestin myth&ma)in ! amusin if it were not so sinister' Ta)in their #ue from former $% defense se#retary 4onald Rumsfelds inanity re ardin Cen& 5uelan ;resident 8u o +ha*e5 that ,also 8itler had been ele#ted- by popular *ote! those 2ournalists who read the opinion pa es of the #orre#t Ameri#an newspapers as well as former forei n minister 7is#her repeated it enthusiasti#ally and fre1uently' Notwithstandin their authority! the histori#al fa#ts are! of #ourse! 1uite different6 after his ele#tion setba#)

9E

in 1?A9! 8itler was not ele#ted but #hosen by a #abal of leaders of ri ht&win parties! indus& try and the media! to head a #oalition o*ernment between those parties and the Na5is! to sa*e the #ountry from the left' Any s#hool#hild should )now this' But dele itimi5in ,anti&Ameri#anism- seems to re1uire hea*y myth&ma)in be#ause it has turned into a problem not only for the (erman politi#al #lass but for the whole of the "$' The "uropean populations are! with a few ex#eptions! #ompletely out of tune with the ideo& lo i#al mobili5ation re1uired to wa e ,.orld .ar 0C-' Ne*ertheless! the #han e has been most dramati# in (ermany' The post&%eptember 11 spi)e in publi# support for the $% was not only wiped out by 9::9D9::A but the J:&year fund of popular and #onfident pro&Ameri#anism had e*aporated and i*en way to distrust! fear and loathin ' The same holds true! somewhat less dramati& #ally! for attitudes towards 0srael' As a dan er to the world! both #ountries ran) with North <orea and 0ran' Russia and +hina are still (and stubbornly) re arded as basi#ally beni n and unthreatenin ' This is surprisin sin#e e*en edu#ated (ermans tend to rely for their news on (erman sour#es & and ha*e no a##ess to the many sour#es of #riti#al news #o*era e and opinion still a*ailable in the .estern world' One mi ht ha*e expe#ted! therefore! a 1ui#) payoff when publi# TC as well as the print media! from hi h&brow to low&brow! redis#o*ered their a*o#a& tion to edu#ate the (erman publi# into ,the Ameri#ans may ma)e mista)es! but the others are in#omparably worse-' An ironi# or re rettin undertone towards ;resident Bush and the neo#onser*ati*es! and dismay about their ineptness & fre1uently slanted as basi#ally bene*olent Ameri#an nai*ete & has ne*ertheless #rept into the presentation of $% poli#y' This rhetori#al flourish #onne#ts easily with the stereotypes of the self &#orre#tin permanen#e of Ameri#an moral leadership! the brutal fanati#ism of Arabs! totalitarian Russians! and ruthless +hinese! and the almost superhuman diffi#ulties in findin the ri ht balan#e between for#e and suasion' Ne*erthe& less! the enerali5ed suspi#ion that somethin is wron & and the distrust of 2ournalists and politi#ians & seems to ha*e resisted up to now the best 2ournalisti# efforts' %in#e dis1uiet had spread e*en amon se ments of the hi h bureau#ra#y! the leaders of the (erman and Ameri#an politi#al elites mo*ed 1ui#)ly and de#isi*ely to #ounter any #onse& 1uen#es the brea)down of the Ameri#an politi#al ima e mi ht ha*e on the attitudes of those eli ible for re#ruitment into elite fun#tions' A lar e&s#ale pro ram was set in motion to )nit youn #i*il ser*ants! mana ement #adres and promisin students institutionally and so#ially to their Ameri#an #ounterparts and to expose them to senior offi#ials of both #ountries & a )ind of ideolo i#al /arshall ;lan that saw *irtually no wee) without an Ameri#an&(erman or an Ameri#an&"$ et&to ether' 0ndeed! the (erman /arshall 7und! hea*ily supported by the most prominent (erman media #on lomerates & to ether with the Bertelsmann 7oundation & #ame into its own by leadin it' And more strin ently than e*er before! to be #onsidered a ,safe- #adre for #areer ad*an#ement in politi#s! the #i*il ser*i#e! the media! business and s#ien#e! re1uires the aspirant to ha*e been su##essfully #onne#ted to the ri ht )ind of Ameri#an or Ameri#an &(erman institution at least on#e' 4ealin with the reflexi*e pa#ifism and the politi#ally #orre#t humanitarianism of the ma2o& rity of (ermans is still a mu#h harder nut to #ra#)' The print media! in parti#ular the wee)ly 4ie Ieit! the fla ship of (erman neo#onser*ati*es! and 4er %pie el! the middlebrow info& tainment wee)ly! made their dissatisfa#tion with their readers repeatedly #lear' And they i*e a #ertain depth to the main sub2e#t of politi#al tal)shows6 the sorry state of mind of the a*era e (erman! his la#) of patriotism! his addi#tion to pea#e! and his rea#tionary notions about the welfare state' 0t did not help that se*eral efforts to reedu#ate (ermans went seriously awry when the mainstream media (publi# TC! the (erman asso#iate networ)s of +NN! plus newspapers)

9J

a*e *isibility and le itima#y to what mi ht be termed the ,o##identalist new ri ht-' Their inter*entions were so well tuned to Ameri#an poli#ies and performan#e expe#tations that they #onfirmed in*oluntarily the worst expe#tations of what was in the offin ' /0i"ho$" "or"$re "he war on "error !anno" *e won1 Before the ima es of Abu (hraib helped to *isuali5e what ,the lo*es are off- implied! Ameri#ans were i*en the opportunity to introdu#e the (erman publi# to the need for tortu& re! with the ,ti#)in bomb- s#enario' There was no tal)&show format that did not ha*e tor& ture on its s#hedule & with the former dire#tor of the Aspen 0nstitute in Berlin! Beff (edmin (now president of Radio 7ree "uropeDRadio =iberty) as the most indefati able of its propo& nents' But it was the (erman&0sraeli /i#hael .olffsohn! a prominent professor at the Armed 7or#es $ni*ersity in /uni#h! who publi#ly mo*ed the sub2e#t from the ,ti#)in bomb- to affirm the .ests fundamental obli ation to use torture a ainst terrorist suspe#ts' Torture! howe*er! thou h normal in 0srael! would be in brea#h of the (erman #onstitution and for a #i*il ser*ant to propose it! a brea#h of the #i*il ser*i#e laws' 8e should ha*e been fired' 8e wasnt' 0nstead! then&interior minister and %o#ial 4emo#rat Otto %#hily went out on a mission of dama e #ontrol' 0n an inter*iew with 4ie Ieit he presented the #on#erns about torture as a tempest in a teapot' <nowin full well what really was happenin ! ha*in been pri*y to intelli en#e briefin s about the material of the $% militarys Ta uba Report about Abu (hraib as well as profitin from a *ery #lose relationship with former $% attorney eneral Bohn Ash#roft! he still ridi#uled the #on#ern about torture as a matter of suspe#ts who ha*e to sit on a stool instead of loun in in an easy&#hair and who ha*e their fa#es illuminated to study fa#ial expressions' Re ardin (uantanamo! he as#ribed it to the understandable Ameri#an dilemma of what to do with the worst of the bad! a dilemma that re1uired for him! too! the need to #han e international law and the (ene*a +on*entions' No wonder! then! that he and 7is#her ob*iously had no 1ualms about lettin the +0A airlines use (ermany for ,rendition- traffi#' No wonder! too! that both refused to lift a fin er to res#ue from (uantanamo a youn (erman resident of Tur)ish ori in! who had li*ed all his life in (ermany! inno#ent e*en to his interro ators! or to follow up on the )idnappin of a (erman to Ba ram' 0n the end! it was the ima es of Abu (hraib that put paid to this effort to a##limati5e the (ermans to the harsh demands of the lobal ,war on terror-' But at least the le al inno*ations introdu#ed by then&interior minister Otto %#hily to et (ermany on a #i*ili5ational war footin & and those promul ated or *entilated by his su##essor! .olf an %#hVuble & are fully #ompatible with the mindset and the intentions of the $% ;atriot A#t' 122 million s$'erfl$o$s &o$n# M$slim men 4ie Ieit! on#e the leadin liberal wee)ly! the standard&bearer of ,se#ular humanism- and enli htened Atlanti#ism! and now the fla ship of (erman neoliberal neo#onser*atism! a hybrid of The New Republi# and National Re*iew! is indefati able in its mission to #on*ert its mostly edu#ated readers to the new demands of the (erman allian#e with 0srael and the $%' 0t opened its pa es to hate&mon ers in so#ial&s#ien#e dis uise whose wares bear an un#anny resemblan#e to those peddled in earlier days by the ideolo ues of the extreme ri ht' Amon those is so#iolo ist (unnar 8einsohn! professor at the $ni*ersity of Bremen where he heads the Raphael =em)in 0nstitute for +omparati*e (eno#ide Resear#h' 8e maintains that the ,youth bul e- & the rapid in#rease of un& or underemployed youn men in 0slami# #ountries & presents the .est with the imperati*e of #ullin them to )eep the terrorist threat from be#omin unmana eable6 either by insti atin #i*il wars in these #ountries or by inter*ention (one mi ht #all them ,wars of demo raphi# sanitation-)' 0n 4ie Ieit he de*eloped this thesis with referen#e to the problems the ,#i*ili5ed- 0sraelis en#oun& ter in dealin with the terrorist barbarians and espe#ially! with sui#ide bombers' The ;alesti&

9@

nians! thou h! present for him not only the terrorist problem in a nutshell! but the spawn of a parti#ularly depra*ed and defe#ti*e so#iety that e*en produ#es female sui#ide bombers' 8einsohn sees! therefore! no differen#e between the 8utu woman wieldin a ma#hete to slau hter her Tutsi nei hbors and the ;alestinian woman donnin an explosi*e belt to slau hter inno#ent 0sraeli #i*ilians' The publi#i5ed dis ust with female sui#ide bombers! by the way! is limited to ;alestinians' The +he#hen women with explosi*e belts who threatened to )ill a whole theater full of people in /os#ow were treated in the (erman media with a reat deal of understandin and #ommiseration' 4is ust and ra e were! instead! dire#ted a ainst the Russian authorities for their refusal to withdraw from +he#hnya and for their *i#timi5in the inno#ent theater audien#e' And when a s#hool full of #hildren was held hosta e in Beslan! the (erman media! a ain! made the terrorists all but disappear behind their indi nation and *enom dire#ted a ainst the Russian authorities' 7ollowin the lead of 4ie Ieit! the hi h&brow formats of publi# TC offered 8einsohn the opportunity to expand on his theses before a lar er audien#e' And #ontemporary (erman philosopher ;eter %loterdi2)! did not withhold his admiration for 8einsohns bold #hallen e to the pussyfootin humanitarians' And bold it is' "*en the e#onomists and ra#e strate ists of the Third Rei#h did not anti#ipate the need to )ill more than E:&@: million subhumans durin and after the *i#torious #ampai n a ainst the %o*iet $nion' 0n propa andi5in the need to ta)e off the lo*es in the fi ht a ainst the 0slami# threat! 4ie Ieit re#ruited also a 4ut#h writer of middle&brow no*els! =eon de .inter' 8e exposed the hopelessly defe#ti*e nature of Arab #i*ili5ation! the inbred resistan#e to a##ulturation of the /uslim immi rants in "urope! and the ynophobe (or eno#idal) obs#urantism of 0slam' %in#e he prea#hed this messa e often enou h! one of the most presti ious (erman honors was bestowed on him' 4ie Ieit also saw to the re1uirements of #reatin empathy with 0sraels stru le at the front lines of .estern #i*ili5ation' 0ts publisher! Bosef Boffe! did see to it that one of his editorial team was embedded with one of the #o*ert operations and assassination s1uads of the 0sra& eli 4efense 7or#e (047) to report about the pride and the sufferin of those soldiers' At the same time! 4ie Ieit refined the use of ima es! already #hara#teri5in the (erman media in toto! that opposes the di nified tears of a pretty youn woman in an 047 uniform to the TC ima es of howlin ! old Arab strumpets and mena#in ly struttin youn men' %imilar messa es dominate the (erman media either in an e*en more *ul ar fashion or somewhat less stridently' But there is *irtually a #omplete absen#e of any #hallen e to its #ommon denominator' The same holds true! by the way! for 7ran#e & with the ex#eption of the monthly /onde 4iplomati1ue' Ne*ertheless! the (erman eneral publi# seems to #onti& nue to resist at least its intended #onse1uen#es' /The Germans ha)e "o learn how "o %ill1 Thus! ,the (ermans ha*e to learn how to )ill-' This stran e and most re*ealin #on#lusion about the (erman state of mind was brou ht ba#) from a NATO meetin at the end of last year by <arsten Coi t! the eternal %o#ial 4emo#rati# ,#oordinator for (erman&Ameri#an relations-' 0t was o##asioned by the allied indi nation (Ameri#an! +anadian! and 4ut#h) about the (erman refusal to do #ombat duty in ,Operation "ndurin 7reedom- in Af ha& nistan6 the mandate of the (erman for#es is still limited to re#onstru#tion assistan#e! pea#e)eepin in the Ta2i) north! as well as poli#in and trainin duties' But sin#e the (erman #ommitment there is already hi hly #ontentious and en2oys hardly any support amon the (erman population! this sardoni# #omment is addressin more dire#tly the fai& lure of the (erman politi#al #lass to #reate the #limate for ettin the ,(ermans to the front- than 2ust the limits of the Af hanistan #ommitment' And its meanin was not lost' 7or a while! one mi ht ha*e been able to en2oy the spe#ta#le of shamefa#ed (erman opi&

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nion&leaders barely able to restrain their impatien#e with the rabble they are for#ed to edu& #ate' To pla#ate the allies! (ermany sent six Tornado re#onnaissan#e planes to Af hanistan! either as the thin end of a wed e or as the timid admission that more is not possible under pre*ai& lin #onditions' Time will tell what it is oin to be' /The Germans ha)e "o learn "o die1 .hat has not yet been pi#)ed up in the wider #ampai n of re &edu#atin (ermans is Rafael %eli manns re#ent pronoun#ement that ,the (ermans ha*e to learn to die- in the ,war of #i*ili5ations-' Thou h a prominent no*elist and 2ournalist! and ri#hly endowed with publi# honors! he ob*iously had lost his san froid' The purpose of the whole effort is! of #ourse! about )illin and dyin ! but the #ooler heads amon 2ournalists and politi#ians )now now & from the ba#)lash of their earlier offensi*eness & that the a*era e (erman needs to be mu#h more terrori5ed! belea uered and anxious to be #onfronted with this truth' 0n the meanwhile! the dissatisfa#tion with the (erman mi#e refusin to roar found different *enues of expression' A lead writer of 4er %pie el! 8endry) Broder! also showered with presti ious awards! too) last years failure of the (ermans to rally in the streets! when they should ha*e demonstrated their support for 0srael and protested a ainst the 8e5bollah ,war of a ression-! as proof of the ineradi#able (erman anti&semitism' And this is #onne#tin well with the histori#al myths that ha*e #ome to dominate the publi# dis#ourse! parti#ularly those whi#h hold the (erman lower #lasses #ulpable for the (erman misfortunes of the last 1:: years! the latest one bein their relu#tan#e to man the barri#ades for the defense of the .est' Tryin to le*era e the (erman #onsensus on anti&semitism has be#ome all the ra e sin#e a ma2ority of (ermans turned a ainst Ameri#an (and 0sraeli) poli#ies' The 1uasi& eneti# dis& position of (ermans to , eno#idal anti&semitism- has be#ome the first and last resort for explainin their re#al#itrant pa#ifism' Ne*ertheless! thou h the striden#y of the #onsensual reportin and #ommentin in the (erman media seems to ha*e somewhat le*eled off with re ard to the wider /iddle "ast! there is another front line in the war of #i*ili5ations where hostility and *enom remains the only #urren#y of media opinion & namely! Russia' %o mu#h so! in fa#t! that the lar e minority of the politi#al #lass whi#h #onsiders normal relations with Russia possible and desirable has lost all influen#e on the publi# dis#ourse' The redis#o*ery of the Russian enemy & also datin from around 9::9D9::A & and the demoni5ation of ;utins Russia mi ht ha*e ori inated in the sear#h for #ountermeasures to the #rash of the Ameri#an publi# ima e' But it has now rea#hed a depth that only a lar e ma2ority of the politi#al #lass & unafraid! at that! of a media #ampai n a ainst it & #ould re#ondition the publi# dis#ourse' This is hi hly improbable & for domesti# as well as for Ameri#an reasons' A new #old war with Russia is somethin the Russians fear far more than they are apt to let on and this fear has a#1uired a real and influential #onstituen#y' Thou h the .est mi ht err about the ris)s! a #old wars per#ei*ed benefits are simply too substantial to re#onsider its wisdom' 0t is! of #ourse! dri*en by the expe#tation that the Russians #an be for#ed to return to the state of affairs that $% Ambassador to the $nited Nations Ialmay <halil5ad dubbed ,adult super*ision-' 0t may end in war born out of desperation' And war! the (erman war a ainst the %o*iet $nion! has be#ome #entral to the myth ma)in underlyin so many of the efforts to reshape the (erman #olle#ti*e psy#he' Thou h by the 1?F:s! many (erman enerals and senior offi#ials had for i*en the %o*iets for defeatin the .ehrma#ht! the fashionable *iew now is that the %o*iet *i#tory was ille itimate & be#ause it was a#hie*ed by ,%talinist methods- & and that %talin and 8itler were e1ually responsible

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for the war! and e1ually *i#timi5ers of the %o*iet population' But sin#e demo#rati# (ermany repented its sins! and Russia didnt! Russia will remain in thrall to its totalitarian herita e! and will still ha*e to pay for the war it finally and 2ustly lost in 1??1' $nder irdin this #ari#ature of history with appli#ations for the present are endless series on publi# TC about the %o*iet barbarian ineptness in fi htin the war! the sufferin of (erman women at the hands of Red rapists! about the strafin and torpedoin of refu ees and refu& ee ships! the dri*in &out of (ermans! and the %o*iet anti&semiti# refusal to re#o ni5e the spe#ial pla#e of the @ million Bews amon the 9: million #i*ilian *i#tims of the (erman #ru& sade a ainst Bewish Bolshe*ism' 0n fa#t! in #onne#tin the debate amon the 0sraeli ri ht and the ideolo i#al #ontinuity in those ,history- series! one mi ht #ome to the #on#lusion that the (erman #rime is the one of the 8olo#aust of ,inno#ent- Bews & inno#ent in the sense of non&#ommunist' 0t is! there& fore! #ompletely unsurprisin that the #ry of ,anti &semitism- that meets any opposition to 0sraels poli#ies and its propa andists! lea*es the Bewish non& or anti&Iionist left as it has always been! fair ame' $na*oidably! these tales to shape the publi# #ons#ien#e will e*entually ha*e effe#t' But for now they seem to ha*e failed their mission' The polls still show a substantial ma2ority of (ermans re ardin Russia as non&threatenin and basi#ally beni n' Thou h not for la#) of tryin ' =ast years #limax of the efforts to ta)e down ;utin in a publi# relations sense & with hopes! ob*iously! of ettin the (erman publi# to s#ent blood & was an inter*iew in the run&up to the (&F ;etersbur meetin ' 0t was led by /aybrit 0llner! a popular TC politi#al tal) show host )nown as one of the three ,+ompassionates- (as the 7uries were eulo i5ed in #lassi#al times) of publi# tele*ision' %in#e these e*ents are always hea*ily s#ripted and #horeo raphed with the in*ol*ement of the politi#al appointees headin publi# TC! there was nothin a##idental or unforseen in its #ondu#t' 0llner wa ed this inter*iew li)e a prose#utor interro atin a defendant' 8er ,Mou dont want us to belie*e-! ,you tal) too lon -! her pullin fa#es and interruptin ;utin! demonstrated that her parents were 1uite amiss in tea#hin her manners' This was not a 1uestion of e*adin subser*ien#e or not #hallen in ;utin! but she beha*ed in a fashion more appropriate for the old Ameri#an sho#)&tal) TC Berry %prin er %how than for a serious politi#al inter*iew' Thou h ;utin neither lost his smile nor his san froid! it was una*oidable that the <remlin drew #on#lusions about the future of (erman&Russian relations as well as about its ability to et a fair hearin for its point of *iew' This inter*iew was e*en more remar)able for its #ontrast with an inter*iew of ;resident Bush by %abine +hristiansen (the se#ond of the three +ompassionates)' 8er demeanor su & ested a #oyly suppressed obse1uiousness and her #hallen e (re (uantanamo) dissol*ed in the shared relief about the upswin in $%&(erman relations and the wisdom of +han#ellor /er)el' 0t was not ,hail fellow! well met- but the demonstration of measured awe before the burdens of the presidents offi#e! of the willin ness to ha*e the world explained for the yo)els at home! and of a sli ht willin ness to su##umb to the manly #harms of power' Both inter*iews are emblemati# for the hormonal #han e of (erman poli#ies and their publi# debate' 0t does not matter in the lon er run whether the (erman population will *i#ariously parta)e in its thrills or not' .hat #ounts is that the (erman politi#al #lass is or ed with the will to follow its temptations! losin in the pro#ess pruden#e and reason' The Ameri#an poli& ti#al elites are already failin 3 the (erman ones are followin suit' Axel Brot is the pen name for a German defense analyst and former intelligence officer. 2007, Asia Times Online.

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