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Germany
Calling
FROM THE GERMAN JOURNALISTS OF www.german-foreign-policy.com Translated by Edward Spalton and staff of Free Nations
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GERMANY AS "VICTORIOUS POWER IN IRAQ" (NB: This report is NOT a spoof! These are the extraordinary claims of the German political and journalist classes!) Date of Report 11 April 2003 The German government is strengthening its efforts to assert its influence over the "New Order" in the Gulf region. Simultaneously powerful forces are demanding a compromise with the USA so as to use the military power of the aggressors as a "peacekeeping force", ensuring that German and European protagonists can organize the "New Order". On April 3 for the first time Chancellor Schroeder committed himself publicly to the objective of the war against Iraq and demanded "regime change". The Chancellor's speech awoke the expectation that Germany belonged among "the victorious powers in Iraq". The opposition CDU/CSU (Christian Democrats) in the meantime moved significantly closer to the government line which was laid out in the strategy paper "A New Order in Iraq according to European Principles". The 23 NATO and EU foreign ministers also demand that the USA must
place the "reconstruction of Iraq" in the hands of the UN
and share with other nations the influence achieved by war. In this
matter, Berlin is relying on the British Prime Minister Blair, who supports
Berlin's demands for a central UN role, and on dissent in the US administration.
It is reported that the "sensible" forces around Secretary
of State Powell are ready for compromise while the "hard-liners"
around Defence Secretary Rumsfeld insist on the power of the USA to
dispose matters. German diplomats plan to use the "GERMANS TO THE FRONT" (*1) The Frankfurter Allgemeiner Zeitung reports that "liberal"
circles in the USA are already pressing for a leading German role in
Iraq's "New Order". The Germans are portrayed as "the
world-wide leading experts in de-totalitarianisation" (!!) and
so are ideally suited to the task. This would be a publicly acceptable
form for German participation in the Iraq campaign, which could be sold
to disgruntled public opinion in Washington as a calming The endeavours of the German "civil brigades" should be protected
by the military power of the invading powers. Germany and the EU should
encourage the USA to leave American troops in Iraq for as long as it
takes to achieve "stabilization of political conditions" and
convert them into a "peacekeeping force" as quickly as possible
- thus advised the "Foundation for Policy Studies" (SWP).
This would be a test of the ability of Europe and America to overcome
their differences about the war. Additionally the Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung stated that any halfway stable New Order for Iraq could
not be led by the principle of self government (!!). Iraq should first
become a protectorate. "The population will be most quickly persuaded
by what happens there politically, if the powerful will of the powers
is recognizable. They must not aspire too soon to a civil society and
independence but rely on the moderating influence of the new protecting
powers. (*1) "Germans to the front" was the order given by the British commander Lord Edward Hobart Seymour to the international expeditionary force during the Boxer rebellion in China (1900). The incident was the subject of a painting which became very popular in Germany - rather as Lady Butler's picture of the Scots Greys at Waterloo is well known in England. Notes (Previous reports) 1. "Away from America's side" and "For a strong Europe"
* * In German on www.german-foreign-policy.com SOURCES Government statement by Federal Chancellor Schroeder 3/4/03 on the
international situation and conclusions of European Council in Brussels;www.bundesregierung.de |