[Zeroisanumber]

I'd have to go with the State Department on this one. Seeking to harm Germany in retaliation for not locksteping in behind us is short-sighted and ultimately self-defeating. Yes, we disagree, but kicking the legs out from under an ally's economy in a fit of pique is idiotic.

[Torie]

Are you a Quisling too? :)

[Catspaw]

That's if you consider Germany an ally.

[section9]

Remember, this article was written in The Observer, the Sunday variant of The Guardian.

Part of this story has the ring of truth: Rummy, Rice and the entire administration, especially Powell, are pissed at the Hun. They actually understand the Frogs being Frogs, but cannot abide what Schroeder and his people are doing.

But they are not relocating people from Germany for spite's sake.

Redeployment from the Bundesrepublik has been on the drawing boards for years. Most of the Americans leaving Germany will eventually be returned to the States. No way are the Big Red One and the Old Ironsides divisions going to be sent back to Germany after the war. They are going to be redeployed home, along with their equipment.

I doubt they'll be sent to Poland, Spain, or Slovakia, for that matter. You might see a brigade attached to the Polish Army, but that's it.

This stuff would have happened with or without the war. There's simply no strategic reason to remain in Krautland.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[bfree]

Yes, we disagree, but kicking the legs out from under an ally's economy in a fit of pique is idiotic

Please explain one thing, what are the Germans and French doing to help our economy? It's certainly not necessary for us to help all economies, so why not help our friends in Poland and the Czech Republic instead?

[Semper Paratus]

Yes, we disagree, but kicking the legs out from under an ally's economy in a fit of pique is idiotic.

I wouldn't write off Germany yet, too early to start pulling out. Schroeder is on very thin ice and we could get a more friendly regime in soon.
But I'm all for keeping their feet to the fire.

[Stefan Stackhouse]

Yes, we disagree, but kicking the legs out from under an ally's economy in a fit of pique is idiotic.

Not if they have transitioned from being an ally to being an ADVERSARY.

It is time to face up to the fact that France, Germany, and Belgium are no longer our friends. And this is not just about Iraq. Trouble was brewing long before this, and an eventual falling-out was inevitable. The biggest mistake we could make is to continue operating as if they are still our allies, and that this is an alliance that needs to be "saved." It is already dead, and the sooner that we face up to that fact and act accordingly, the better off we will be.