Terminator? Demokrator! .... German Article Comparing U.S. ME Policy To WW II....Pro-US

"Spiegel-Online" ^ | 2 March 2005 | Von Claus Christian Malzahn

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02. März 2005	Printer Friendly Version

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Terminator? Demokrator!

By Claus Christian Malzahn

Iraq, the Palestinian areas, Lebanon: The virus of democracy is rife in the Middle East. German foreign policy must finally react to this pleasant turn of events and look the fact in the eye that liberty and democracy sometimes are brought with fire and sword.

DPA

Aircraft carrier "USS Abraham Lincoln" on 11. September 2002, the anniversary of the attack on the World-Trade-Center: Even the Nazi Regime wasn't ended by sit-ins in front of the Führer's main headquarters

Berlin - George W. Bush - and the man does know what he's talking about - once compared Germany's abstinence in the Iraq war with the position of a dry alcoholic: even one glass of beer is too many. After the Wehrmacht and the SS had laid Europe into ash and rubble, had murdered almost all of the European Jews and had cut a swath of death into the Soviet Union, war as a means of politics for the Federal Republic was taboo. Germany is sinking in a flood of memories of World War II at the moment; almost every day of 60 years ago is lived through  in the media once again. No folk in Europe is as history obsessed as the Germans. The fascination over the "Fall" is nearly boundless.

But the flood of pictures and an avalanche of history bury many important realizations that still posses validity today. The Nazi Regime wasn't ended by a sit-in in front of the Führer's headquarters. Hitler's total war machine was wrestled to the ground under the greatest of military and civilian sacrifices by Russians, Americans and Brits. Democracy for us Germans was carried into the country with bombs and shells. It wouldn't have happened any other way because the Germans didn't want it any another way. Many believed in their Führer until the end, and the first steps of the Re-Education weren't stimulated by social workers at that time, but ordered by the US-Army.

 

KZ Buchenwald after the liberation by the allies: Freedom and democracy were brought to Europe by the sword

Peace and democracy were brought to Europe by the sword. George W. Bush started a war against Iraq two years ago for the wrong reasons. There were good reasons to protest it. Now it seems that from this wrong war a real freedom of speech and democracy have emerged. Now there should be just as good reasons to rejoice.

The weapons of mass destruction, which presumably threatened the world, were never found - but mass graves instead. In January the Iraqis voted against terror. It hasn't been stopped yet. The supporters of the terrorist leader Sarkawi follow a gloomy, religiously fueled promise of fortune. Death is the climax of life for them. Only death will stop them. But the Iraqi voters have attained something else: The virus of democracy, that Sarkawi and associates are so afraid of, is rife in the Middle East. In February in Saudi Arabia there were local elections - a ridiculous event from a western point of view - but for the residents an important limbering up exercise in the area of freedom of speech. Until now only men are allowed to vote there - but the Saudi Arabian Secretary of State Prince Saud just promised in a "Time" magazine interview, that this shall change soon: Women are more sensible voters than men anyway. Completely new tones from Riad.

Wake Up call for the Lebanese People

AP

Demonstration in Beirut: Sign of Hope

What is happening in Lebanon is just as astonishing. Millions of people are winning political self-confidence despite occupation and fresh memories of a bloody civil war. Whoever was behind the terrorist attack on the former governor - he will have hardly had a wake up call for the Lebanese people in mind. It is still too early to compare these developments with the "orange revolution" in the Ukraine. But, to be sure, a sign of the hope are the young people, who with waving flags, want to take possession of their country.

We only can surmise where the journey will end up in Lebanon. The Syrians will have to leave the mistreated country - now or later. Perhaps the virus of democracy and freedom of speech will spread from Beirut to Damascus, perhaps it will take over Amman and Teheran soon. We Europeans should not be afraid of this process but should support it according to our ability. For far to long the nature of German foreign policy in the Middle East has been to leave everything just like it was. ""Critical Dialog" with Teheran sounded terrific - and it wasn't harming anyone. Blood for oil in the Iraq war? A Given. But, let's take the USA out of the game and look at the export volume of the Federal Republic to the country of the mullahs: 2.7 billion Euros annually. What we call peace, others would describe as a cold, deadly silence. We negotiate with people who like to force their people into the corset of the Koran. For whomever it gets to tight, they are locked away, tortured, chased out of the country or killed.

German Incense Stick Politics

AFP

Bush in front a picture of Jesus: Serious objections to Bush's gunboat democratization:

A war by the USA against Iran would be foolish. But nobody here should claim that there is peace in Iran. The fundamental pacifistic attitude of the Federal Government has a strong economic basis. If the German government could have its way, in one hundred years we would still be able to sit in Teheran and drink tea. Whoever regards the democratization of the Middle East as correct, should have nothing against the Americans spreading a little gasoline vapour over German incense stick politics from time to time. Especially the latest blockades of the mullahs over the examination of their nuclear program verify this. A little hot sauce in the mild European Iranian dialog can hardly do any harm, after all Secretary of State Kinkel has already used this chatting diplomacy and has achieved nothing. The conservative mullahs in Iran sit more securely in the saddle then ever.

There are serious objections to Bush's gunboat democratization: Abu Ghureib! Guantanamo! How does a country which tolerated torture and created illegal zones want to stand for democracy and human rights? It is outrageous that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is still in office and Secretary of State Colin Powell had to give way. But the torture didn't remain unpunished: A public prosecutor had demanded at first 38 years, in the meantime, 16 years for torture bride Lynndie England. This would be too much time behind bars for a person who hasn't murdered anyone. Moreover, the reality in the Middle East is more complicated than a couple of horror photos from the dungeons of the US-Army may lead to believe.

Against this iconography of horror, sometimes emphasized more in the west than in the Middle East, the people In Iraq simply place their hopes. The duality of war crimes and liberation has also happened before. When U.S. General George Patton landed on Sicily with the 7th U.S. army in July 1943, 150 Italian soldiers and 50 Germans who had already given up were murdered: a war crime even in those times.

In April 1945 Patton's soldiers liberated the concentration camp Buchenwald. What the soldiers saw on the Ettersberg near Weimar knocked the wind out of them: Mountains of corpses, living skeletons, the dying didn't stop for weeks after the liberation, either. Even the birds fled before the crimes of the Nazis. They only returned when the crematorium stopped pumping its sickly sweet death clouds into the sky.

"Shock-and-awe"- Pedagogy

AFP

Campaign posters in Basra: It would be better for Iraq if the US-Army stayed a while longer

On the next day George Patton signed up one thousand Weimar residents to do clearing up work in the concentration camp. From every household someone had to go up to the Ettersberg and attest to the horrors of the Nazis. They called this action "Viewing The Atrocities" a necessary "shock-and awe" pedagogy for a folk who had believed in the Führer, the wonder weapons and Santa Claus until the end. "Viewing The Atrocities" was one of the first measures for the re-education of the Germans, ordered by a general who had violated the Geneva Convention brutally on Sicily

But who wants to deny that the man who liberated Buchenwald is nevertheless an historical hero? He stuck the noses of the, in part, very arrogant, cold, taken up by themselves and Goethe, Weimars into the crimesof the Nazis which had taken place for years right at their front doorstep and which had not further disturbed them. Patton and the U.S. army withdrew a while later. The areas conquered by the U.S. army went to the Russians in exchange for West Berlin.

Patton's 7th army, among others, later became absorbed into the V. corps, that unit of the US-Army which carried the brunt of the attack on Baghdad two years ago. Among the round 42,000 soldiers is also found the 205th brigade of the military secret police, a few men and women of this troop also carried out their duties in Abu Ghrureib. Other soldiers of the V. corps are now building schools in central Iraq, driving patrols. The 130th Pioneer Brigade is building bridges or renovating streets. Without the protection of the V. corps they wouldn't have voted in Iraq.

It would be better for Iraq if the US-Army stays a while longer - and that it won't disappear again as fast as it did back then in Weimar: So that the virus of democracy can still can spread unhindered as long as possible.

© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2005
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"Spiegel-Online....Terminator? Demokrator!

Translated by longjack

[lainde]

Vielen dank longjack...You've been posting ausgezeichnet articles and links!

[An.American.Expatriate]

As always, great work longjack!

[demlosers]

Longjack,

Thanks for the good read. :)

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

What, pray tell, is Germany today?

Neutered.

[Atlantic Friend]

"However, it still annoys the hell out of me when the Europeans say that the war was only fought on the WMD issue."

Judging by the threads here, it WAS for the WMDs and the Hussein-AQ links. Two things that still do not convince me.

But was deposing Hussein a good thing ? Yes indeed. Was Hussein a murderous tyrant ? Yes indeed. Should we all have helped deposing him, if only because we had used and supported Hussein in our realpolitik games ? Yes, yes, yes indeed.

[elhombrelibre]

Great post; it shows there is at least some ambiguity by the opinion makers there.

[vbmoneyspender]

If you want, I can show you the Iraq War Resolution. The Resolution mentions about 10 different reasons for going to war against Hussein including the fact that Hussein was routinely firing missiles at our pilots in the no-fly-zone. Now you tell me, if someone is routinely firing missiles at your pilots does that constitute an act of war that you are entitled to respond to in kind?

At the start of WWII, Hitler's mere declaration of war on us led to our going to war against Nazi Germany. So, if we are being consistent, going to war against someone who is firing missiles at your people is perfectly justified based on past precedents. Lastly, I would hope that people in Europe would understand (but I am not holding my breath on this) that if someone is trying to kill your people, you are entitled and, indeed, compelled to go after that son-of-a-bitch and either kill him or capture him. Otherwise, you send a signal to other thugs that it is open season on you and your people, which then leads to things like 9/11 happening.

[henkster]

As always, many thanks for the article.

I'm not as "put off" by the article as some of our other forum members. The article has some uncomfortable, and inaccurate, portrayals, such as the "war crimes" of Patton. At least they point out that Patton did the Germans some good. Which differentiates him from Joachim Peiper, whose unit of SS men slaughtered defenseless American POW's at Malmedy.

I'm not certain about the incident in Sicily; while I've read a lot about WW2, there are a few areas I'm still in the dark on, and Sicily is one of them. I will say that during the entire war, in every theater, battlefield surrender was as dangerous as continued fighting. During the heat of battle, men don't easily stop killing each other and it's hard to tell whether the guy who tried to kill you 2 minutes ago should not now be killed. There were also certain unwritten "codes of conduct" at work. For example, it was just understood that when SS troops faced American paratroop units (their best v. our best), the fighting was "especially bitter." That's a euphemism for "no prisoners."

Now, did Patton order the deaths of POW's? No. Not the way the Germans exterminated millions of Soviet POW's through privation. The unfortunate deaths of these men, if they occurred and if they occurred in the numbers stated, was probably not done at one time. Also, they are likely "heat of battle" situations. And I'm sure there was never any direct order or knowlege of these deaths by Patton. The point of the article is that either Patton, as commander, was responsible for the actions of his troops, or by his fiery speeches, incited his troops to a "no prisoners" attitude. Either way, it's pretty much of a stretch. And, as already stated, these were not uncommon occurrences on all battlefields at the time.

By the way; in the article, the "130th Pioneer" should be translated as "130th Engineer." In German military parlance, "Pionere" perform the same duties as American combat engineers; build bridges, blow them up, dig entrenchments, etc....

[nkycincinnatikid]

Naples '44 by Norman Lewis,an Englishman attached to the US 5th Army as an intelligence officer,is a great read about Italy. But in it he documents the murder of surrendering German soliers by the advancing GI's as a matter of fact. Why must we continue to pretend long after the war is over that we won it without falling to the level at times of our adversaries?

[Atlantic Friend]

"If you want, I can show you the Iraq War Resolution. The Resolution mentions about 10 different reasons for going to war against Hussein including the fact that Hussein was routinely firing missiles at our pilots in the no-fly-zone. Now you tell me, if someone is routinely firing missiles at your pilots does that constitute an act of war that you are entitled to respond to in kind?"

I'm not saying that. I'm just deeply regretting the administration instructed Sec Powell to put the emphasis over Iraqi WMDs and links to AQ instead of Saddam's daily violations of the most basic human rights, not to mention the violations to UN resolutions and acts of hostility against the forces monitoring Iraqi airspace.

It's kind of like any trial in the US : even if you know the guy you arrested was an up-to-no-good criminal, you have to present the jurors a compelling case against him.

[vbmoneyspender]

'm not saying that. I'm just deeply regretting the administration instructed Sec Powell to put the emphasis over Iraqi WMDs and links to AQ instead of Saddam's daily violations of the most basic human rights, not to mention the violations to UN resolutions and acts of hostility against the forces monitoring Iraqi airspace.

I agree. In fairness to the Bush admin.though, I think the problem they had there was that the people in the UN whom Bush was trying to convince really didn't care too much about issues like Hussein committing mass murder. Instead, the UN folks were focused purely on what might impact on them, which was the WMD issue, so that is where Bush pitched his argument.

[Atlantic Friend]

"Instead, the UN folks were focused purely on what might impact on them, which was the WMD issue, so that is where Bush pitched his argument."

In that case it was a major miscalculation, since more or less everybody got suspicious about the Iraqi WMDs and the AQ links as soon as these issues were raised.

Certainly, realpolitik has made everyone turning a blind eye to Hussein's torture chambers when he was useful in keeping Iran in check; Nevertheless, and optimistic as it may sound, I really think this should have been the attack angle : telling the UN, which is supposed to stand for human rights everywhere, "here is damning evidence of mass rapings, torture, executions, all of this has lasted way too long, and this is exactly what we plan to stop. Who's with us ?"

Who could have said "oh no, this war is not based on sound moral principles" after that ? Let's face it, even in the countries that were the most cynical or suspicious about the war, the image of Iraqi voters braving terrorism has touched the heart of the people.

Of those who said "US troops shouldn't go to Iraq", no one can look you in the eyes and say "Iraqis should not have had this opportunity to decide their own future". And I find this extremely encouraging, because it means you can still reach to people, ordinary citizens with clear moral principles, and that reluctant governments can be bypassed.

[vbmoneyspender]

I agree with you again. I think it was a miscalculation and that miscalculation has created a certain amount of grief for Bush both here and abroad. Much better to have made the humanitarian argument the main basis for the war rather than the WMD argument. Certainly the polls that I have read show that our troops believe the humanitarian argument and are willing to fight for it.

[Atlantic Friend]

Yes, I really agree. It really struck me how people wary of the Iraqi operations here were unanimous in saluting the Iraqi democracy, and I really think that taught - or reminded - all of us how essential our moral principles are in our lives. When I see these Lebanese people making such a good use of the moral ground, and how much sympathy it elicits here, it's really a breath of fresh air in politics.

[AMDG&BVMH]

Like your tag . . .

Recently heard on "Shau ins Land" that der Alte, Adenauer, brought the anthem back (at least one of the verses) after he came to the US on an official visit in the 50s, and the official greeting music was a cabaret tune! What an insult! Of course, the Amis didn't know what else to play, presumably . . . as the new Germany did not have an anthem.

All the verses are fine mit mir . . .

[FreedomSurge]

thank you for the translation. much appreciated.

[longjack]

You're welcome.

That's nice to hear.

longjack