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Germany signals new self-confidence on military operations
EU Observer ^ | 31.01.14 @ 21:23 | Andrew Rettman

Posted on 02/01/2014 6:33:57 PM PST by Olog-hai

German President Joachim Gauck has said his country should put aside World War II anxieties and play a bigger military role abroad.

“While there are genuine pacifists in Germany, there are also people who use Germany’s guilt for its past as a shield for laziness,” he said on Friday (31 January) at the Munich Security Conference, a yearly meeting of European and US security chiefs. “This [guilt] gives Germany a questionable right to look the other way … Restraint can be taken too far.” […]

“By acting with other countries within the EU, Germany gains influence … Perhaps this could even lead to the establishment of a common European defense,” he added. …

(Excerpt) Read more at euobserver.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Germany; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bundeswehr; commondefense; euarmy; europeanunion; eussr; germany; joachimgauck

1 posted on 02/01/2014 6:33:57 PM PST by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai

just in time for the 100 year anniversary? s/


2 posted on 02/01/2014 6:42:12 PM PST by Finalapproach29er (luke 6:38)
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To: Olog-hai

“Like France. We could help the French by putting some of our Panzers there to help with traffic control and such.”


3 posted on 02/01/2014 6:44:07 PM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Olog-hai

I agree. Germany has shown itself to be a stable democratic nation for the past 60 years, and it’s about time for them to shoulder some of the burden of national defense.


4 posted on 02/01/2014 6:46:27 PM PST by MuttTheHoople (Nothing is more savage and brutal than justifiably angry Americans. DonÂ’t believe me? Ask the Germa)
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To: MuttTheHoople

Who is attacking them?


5 posted on 02/01/2014 6:48:26 PM PST by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai

Radicals from the Sudetenland I would think


6 posted on 02/01/2014 6:51:41 PM PST by Malichi (!)
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To: MuttTheHoople

The number one problem in the German Army? Obesity.

Not really war ready group.


7 posted on 02/01/2014 7:06:04 PM PST by Mikey_1962 (Democrats have destroyed more cities than Godzilla)
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To: Olog-hai

‘The Hun is always either at your throat or at your feet’ -
Winston Churchill.


8 posted on 02/01/2014 7:54:55 PM PST by PAR35
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To: Malichi

Don’t miss the annual rally. This year it is June 7&8 in Augsburg at the convention center.


9 posted on 02/01/2014 8:01:37 PM PST by PAR35
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To: MuttTheHoople

They and Japan should.


10 posted on 02/01/2014 8:06:29 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

Thanks Olog-hai.


11 posted on 02/01/2014 8:10:49 PM PST by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/~mestamachine/)
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To: Olog-hai

For the 4 year period ending in 2013 The Hun spent 1.3% of their GNP on their military. America, under the Dims/socialist, spent 4.3%.

Germany is not likely to spend any more money on its military in the current
European socialist/Marxist grip they find themselves in.


12 posted on 02/01/2014 9:31:56 PM PST by Cen-Tejas (it's the debt bomb stupid!)
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To: Cen-Tejas

They are not in any “grip”. They put out the money of their own volition. It is the common people that object, as they are right to do, but the elite class does as they please.

Take note of Gauck’s comments regarding a “common defense”.


13 posted on 02/01/2014 10:47:36 PM PST by Olog-hai
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To: Mikey_1962

The Germans are still Germans. A standing joke between me and my wife: every German comes from the womb with a rule book in his hand. The only problem is that too few Germans are coming from the womb.


14 posted on 02/01/2014 10:52:05 PM PST by RobbyS (quotes)
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To: Cen-Tejas

If the Bundeswehr were permitted to rev up, some of the socialists who can’t get a job might be attracted by a military career. The Germans are not a sloppy people.


15 posted on 02/01/2014 10:55:59 PM PST by RobbyS (quotes)
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To: Finalapproach29er; PAR35

You guys forget that Napoleon who invaded Germany was French; that France was the first to declare war in 1870; and, before all that, German-speaking Alsace-Lorraine territories were gradually annexed by France between 1639 and 1697, mainly as a result of 17 invasions, prompting many Palatinate Germans to flee to America. The sad history of conflict over Alsace-Lorraine did not begin in 1914.


16 posted on 02/02/2014 9:19:55 AM PST by OESY
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To: OESY

Actually, Napoleon was from Corsica, not France proper, and was probably influenced as much by the Italians as by the French. One reason it took him so long to surrender?


17 posted on 02/02/2014 11:54:07 AM PST by PAR35
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To: PAR35

... and Hitler was from Austria. So what? Pay attention to goals set and armies led. Nobody believes Corsica conquered most of Europe and had to be defeated.


18 posted on 02/02/2014 2:56:31 PM PST by OESY
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