German Tanks against Russia
From my Writing Room
Copyright © 2023 by Uwe Bahr
Poland, of all countries, today submitted a request to the German government to supply Ukraine with German Leopard 2 tanks from its own inventory. This requires the approval of the country of manufacture. However, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki already signaled yesterday that he would deliver the German tanks without Berlin’s consent if necessary.
The German government is still hesitating – but the question is how long it will continue on this course.
This development is astonishing and rather reminiscent of extortionist methods, to say the least. After all, it has always been Poland that has not grown tired of reminding Germans of their Nazi past over the last decades. The unanimous view was that Germany should stay out of military interventions once and for all. This viewpoint has changed dramatically virtually overnight.
So now German tanks are to drive forward again. It opens all doors to the next political abuse: If something goes wrong and the conflict in Ukraine escalates further, the Germans and their weapons could be held responsible. Because we know: Mankind forgets quickly.
You would think that people should learn lessons from history – instead, not only ordinary people, but also the vast majority of politicians judge from the moment. Hand to mouth. This attitude is disastrous, because in this way mistakes from the past are repeated.
In the old German peace party, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), of all parties – which once rejected Hitler’s Enabling Act – a majority opinion has now emerged according to which Germany is a leading power and its army (the Bundeswehr) should consequently be upgraded to the strongest military force in Europe. Those who criticize this new German adventurism get, among other things (for example, to be called a “Putin-understander”), the answer that new challenges require a new political orientation.
All this is happening because the largest country on earth, Russia, is to be brought to its knees via corrupt oligarch capitalism in Ukraine, after the West has permanently managed over the past two decades not only to ignore Russian security interests, but to challenge the country unnecessarily.
As the former U.S. diplomat and historian George Kennan rightly said about U.S. policy immediately after the collapse of the old Soviet Union: “The West is squandering the opportunity to turn a former enemy into a partner.”
Now they only talk about German tanks against Russia. The Fuehrer would slap his thigh with enthusiasm.
The Wind of Change 