German Foreign Policy (DE/FR/EN)

(Own report) - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier's newest diplomatic initiatives for ending the battle for Aleppo are aimed at increasing Germany's Middle East influence. His efforts to achieve a Russian ceasefire and the establishment of a corridor to airdrop supplies for the besieged neighborhoods coincide with Berlin's official announcement to "actively help shape the global order." Assuming a humanitarian image, Berlin is demanding that combat ceases, precisely at the moment, when a victory in this war for the government troops appears within reach. This contrasts with its earlier attitude in phases of the war. When the insurgents were on the offensive; Berlin was fueling the conflict with the development of major reconstruction plans for Syria for the aftermath of Assad's overthrow. In the current battle for Aleppo, whereas Steinmeier is officially promoting a ceasefire, Germany's close allies are intensifying the arms buildup of the jihadi militias. A report by Amnesty International has revealed the consequences of the support Germany's close allies have been providing the jihadis, for years - with Berlin's tacit consent: In the regions controlled by jihadis, the militias are using corporal punishments such as amputations and stoning, arbitrary abductions, torture and murder to secure their reign.

(Own report) - Whereas the Brexit has been met with wholesale rejection by the German and other EU member states' establishments, it was positively assessed in the little noticed countries of Northwest Europe, growing in strategic importance. Iceland's president recently invited Great Britain to enhance its cooperation with the "triangle of non-EU countries," meaning Iceland, and the autonomous regions Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Greenland left the European Community (EC) in 1982; the Faroe Islands have never been members and Iceland officially withdrew its application for EU membership in 2015. All three countries refuse nuclear weapons and NATO's missile defense shield on their territories, while showing a greater openness towards Russia than most other western countries. Iceland and particularly Greenland have been growing in their strategic importance with the impending opening of Arctic sea routes and exploitation of Arctic natural resources. German experts have already suggested inciting Greenland to secede from Denmark. This would offer Germany greater influence on Greenland and consequently on the Arctic's political, economic and military affairs.

(Own report) - With his introductory visit to Berlin on Monday, the French presidential candidate Alain Juppé has begun preparing his candidature for the 2017 elections. Whereas his rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, had not left a particularly good impression during his talks in the German capital, Alain Juppé, following his meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel und his talk with business representatives, is being highly praised in Germany. Juppé, who has announced budget cuts of from 80 to 100 billion Euros and a drastic reduction of public service jobs, "is one of the few politicians, who has a plan and takes a stand," according to the Director General of the Federation of German Industries (BDI). Another business manager is quoted with his condescending statement, "Juppé could even be a minister in Germany." Already in the last presidential election campaign, President Sarkozy's party had formulated its election platform in coordination with Germany's CDU. Sarkozy was ostentatiously seeking information on the "Agenda 2010" from the German Chancellor at the time, Gerhard Schröder. In bowing to Germany's austerity dictate, Paris was hoping to play a leading role in the EU's foreign and military policy. Those hopes, however, are deceptive. As one can read in the German media, "Paris' traditional spheres of influence, for example in West Africa, should no longer be left up to France."

(Own report) - In light of the escalating conflict in the South China Sea, the German Navy is, for the first time, participating in a large-scale maneuver in the Pacific Ocean. Mine clearance divers and other support personnel from the naval infantry ("marines") stationed in Eckernförde, near Kiel, will be involved in the "RIMPAC 2016" combat exercise, organized by the US Navy, over the next few days, training in various military operations in the Pacific. A total of 25,000 soldiers from 26 countries, coming from the main NATO powers and the most important US allies along the Pacific Coast of Latin America, in the South Pacific and in East and Southeast Asia will be participating. China is involved in some of the training measures, however, explicitly excluded from others. There is a question, if China will be invited to participate in subsequent RIMPAC maneuvers. At the same time, the US military is developing plans for operations, according to western military experts, against China's defensive lines, erected on islands and artificial reefs in the South China Sea. Tension has been rising since yesterday's decision by the UN's Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on a territorial dispute. The EU has begun discussing participation in naval patrols near the Chinese coast.

(Own report) - NATO wound up its summit in Warsaw, Saturday, with a decision to bolster its arms buildup. The measures decided by the Western war alliance are particularly aimed at Russia. Four battalion-sized NATO-"Battle Groups" will be deployed in Poland and the Baltic countries - one under German command. NATO will also support Ukraine's armed forces and reinforce its presence on the Black Sea. The war alliance pursues its propaganda of Cold-War style alleged threat scenarios. With allusion to the "Fulda Gap," NATO identifies today a "Suwalki Gap" between northeastern Poland and southern Lithuania as an alleged gateway for Russian troops to Kaliningrad through Belarus, against which, NATO would be "helpless." Statistics show that the "helpless" NATO invests thirteen times more than Russia in its military. While the EU is enhancing its cooperation with the western war alliance, the US is heating up the next major conflict - with China - through its deployment of a missile defense system in Asia.

(Own report) - The German Chancellery is looking for options that can annul the British referendum's decision to withdraw from the EU. According to reports in the media, Chancellor Angela Merkel has discussed repeating Britain's referendum with her closest entourage. However, "external advice" should be avoided, because this probably would be rejected in Great Britain, according to Chancellery Minister Peter Altmaier. The German media, on the other hand, is busy inciting the EU-oriented British establishment majority with concrete proposals of how the referendum results could be subverted, for example, it would be risky, if the government simply refuses to initiate the withdrawal process or if the parliament forbid the Brexit. However, it is conceivable that the withdrawal negotiations end with a miserable result, and is, then, submitted to the British population for approval - in the expectation that it will be rejected. SPD Chair, Sigmar Gabriel also intensifies pressure by calling for young EU-oriented Britons to be granted German citizenship. The appropriation of foreign citizens as Germans is nothing new; it had previously been restricted to Eastern Europeans with German ancestry. That one state arrogates the right to claim sovereignty over citizens of another country on the basis of political orientation - (being "pro-EU") - is unprecedented.

(Own report) - Just a few days before the NATO summit opens in Poland's capital Warsaw, German think tanks are not only pushing for stationing combat troops at Russia's borders but even for the expansion of the West's nuclear arsenal. A "revision" of NATO's "nuclear strategy" is "urgently needed," because, vis à vis Moscow, for a "credible deterrence" a "nuclear component" is necessary, explained the CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The German government's main military policy think tank, the Federal College for Security Studies (BAKS) is also calling for the transatlantic alliance to reach a "new strategic nuclear consensus," to contain Russia, the "anti-western power." The implementation of the missile defense system in NATO's eastern European member countries is also explained with Moscow's alleged "aggressivity" and the derived need for "deterrence." The western military alliance demonstrates its "political capability to take action" against Russia, by its "close involvement" of the formally neutral countries Sweden and Finland "in NATO processes," according to the author. Besides, both think tanks admit their commitment to militaristic "global crisis management." According to the Adenauer Foundation, NATO must be able to address and "neutralize threats wherever they arise." The think tank explicitly considers the "flow of migrants" in this category.

(Own report) - Together with his French counterpart, the German foreign minister has announced the EU's transformation to become a "political union" and its resolute militarization for global military operations. In a joint position paper, Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) and Jean-Marc Ayrault (PS) are calling for the EU's comprehensive military buildup, based on a division of labor, to enable future global military operations. Following the Brexit, the EU should, step-by-step, become an "independent" and "global" actor. All forces must be mobilized and all "of the EU's political instruments" must be consolidated into an "integrated" EU foreign and military policy. Steinmeier and Ayrault are therefore pushing for a "European Security Compact," which calls for maintaining "employable high-readiness forces" and establishing "standing maritime forces." The European Council should meet once a year as "European Security Council." Before this paper was made public, Germany's foreign minister and chancellor had made comments also promoting a German global policy and massive rearmament, possibly also with EU-support.

(Own report) - Berlin is applying intense pressure in the aftermath of the Brexit, to reorganize the EU. Under the slogan, "flexible Union," initial steps are being taken to establish a "core Europe." This would mean an EU, led by a small, tight-knit core of countries, with the rest of the EU member countries being subordinated to second-class status. At the same time, the President of the European Parliament and Germany's Minister of the Economy (both SPD) are calling for the communitarization of the EU's foreign policy, reinforcement of its external borders, the enhancement of domestic repression and the creation of a "European FBI." The German chancellor has invited France's president and Italy's prime minister to Berlin on Monday to stipulate in advance, measures to be taken at the EU-summit on Tuesday. German media commentators are speaking in terms of the EU's "new directorate" under Berlin's leadership. At the same time, Berlin is intensifying pressure on London. The chair of the Bundestag's EU Commission predicts a new Scottish referendum on secession and calls for Scotland's rapid integration into the EU. German politicians in the European Parliament are exerting pressure for rapidly implementing the Brexit and reorganizing the EU. Chancellor Merkel has reiterated her veiled threat that "reconciliation and peace" in Europe are "anything but self-evident," should European countries choose to no longer be integrated in the EU.

(Own report) - The British people's vote yesterday to take their country out of the EU is shaking up the EU, and Berlin's plans to use the EU for its own hegemonic policies. With a 72 percent turnout, 52 percent of the British voters opted to wave good-bye to the EU. This vote has a major impact on Berlin, not only because Europe's second largest economy - after Germany's - and a prominent military power will be leaving the EU and therefore no longer be available for German hegemonic policies imposed via the EU. It also can lead to a domino effect. Calls for referendums are being raised in other EU member countries. In several member countries, the EU's growing unpopularity is reinforcing centrifugal forces. The Swedish foreign minister has explicitly warned of a "spill-over effect" that could lead to a Swedish EU exit. In the German media, demands are being raised to simply ignore the referendum and let the British parliament vote in favor of remaining in the EU. Berlin has already begun reinforcing its national positions - independent of the EU.

(Own report) - Initial outlines of Berlin's possible reaction to Britain's EU exit ("Brexit") are beginning to seep out to the public. According to a report, government circles, who themselves see no reason to fear the turbulences of the financial markets, are hoping that these will persuade a sufficient number of the British to vote in favor of "remaining." If this does not work, and the British opt for the Brexit, drastic measures should not be excluded. To avoid negative effects on the German economy, some members of the administration are pleading in favor of granting the UK an EU-associate status, similar to that of Norway. However, "a front should be established" to prevent other EU members from following suit and converting to an associate status. The transition to a "core Europe" remains an option and a discussion of it could be initiated at the end of this week. The foreign ministers of the six EU founding countries have planned an exclusive meeting to discuss the consequences of the British referendum.

(Own report) - The Bundeswehr University in Munich has convened a high level cyberwarfare conference. Organized by the military academy's research center's "Cyber Operational Defense" (CODE), representatives from the Defense, Interior and Foreign Ministries, the Bavarian Regional Office of Criminal Investigation as well as from several leading German arms companies are among the participants. German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) recently announced the establishment of a new branch of the military, the "Cyber and Information Command" (KdoCIR) with a staff of 13,500. Like the Army, Navy, and Air Force, it will be commanded by its own Inspector General. The Bundeswehr has already launched an advertising campaign costing millions, which, according to the Minister, is aimed at recruiting IT specialists ("Nerds") for military service. The Bundeswehr is explicitly preparing capabilities for cyber attacks - a project that is massively being promoted by NATO. The "neutralization" of enemy air defenses through cyber attacks is also in discussion.

(Own report) - With tensions rising between China and western powers, the German chancellor is using her current visit in Beijing to enhance Sino-German economic cooperation. German investments in the People's Republic of China had increased to around 60 billion Euros in 2014 - tendency still rising - surpassed only by investments in the USA and a few EU countries. Business representatives are campaigning in favor of stronger German participation in a Chinese trillion-dollar project. This project named the "New Silk Road," is aimed at bolstering ties between Eastern Asia and Europe. The project, also on the agenda of today's German-Chinese government consultations, has two components, overland and maritime transport routes. Trade by train from Chongqing to Duisburg and by ship through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean will be enhanced. While German companies hope for lucrative business deals, strategists warn that the New Silk Road could enhance Beijing's global influence - and ultimately break the western powers' global dominance.

(Own report) - To ward off refugees, the EU should completely seal off the Mediterranean and immediately force refugees, intercepted at sea, to return to their home countries, demands Austria's Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, stating an even tougher position than the EU's current deportation agreement with Turkey, imposed by Berlin. Kurz also undermines the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and - taking Australia as a model - proposes to resettle those refugees, not immediately deportable, to islands. Refugees reaching the EU without a visa should be placed in detention camps on Lesbos or Lampedusa. Whoever attempts to enter illegally, loses their "right to asylum in Europe," Kurz declared. Protest came from Libya. Fayez al Serraj, the "Prime Minister" installed from abroad, declared that his country would not take back refugees the EU has deported. In the meantime, the number of refugees, who have drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean, is at a new high. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) - which is itself participating in the global fight against refugees - between January and Mai 2016, at least 2,443 people have lost their lives on their way from North Africa to Europe - more than ever before.

(Own report) - At the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA), which opens today in Berlin, the Bundeswehr is demonstrating its ability to wage wars of aggression. The program includes various "troop proficiency demonstrations," performing, for example, the "evacuation" of German nationals from a "crisis zone" for the audience at the Air Show. The demonstration calls for the use of elite combat units, particularly assault helicopters, considered generally by the military as the ideal weapon for anti-guerilla operations. The ILA management has installed a central area on the fair grounds for the aerospace industry to provide information on special helicopters for police and military missions. The event is again also focusing on the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) - or drones. The Bundeswehr, alone, will introduce four different types of UAS, which had been used in Afghanistan to reconnoiter enemy positions in preparation of targeted attacks. At the US Air Force stand, the MQ-9 "Reaper" combat drone will be on display, which is being used around the world to illegally assassinate so-called terrorist suspects, regularly causing large numbers of civilian casualties.

(Own report) - French protests against the adoption of the German "Agenda 2010" deregulation models continue. Unions have announced extensive strike activities for this week in protest of the "job market reform" with which the French government seeks to implement further adjustments to meet Berlin's neoliberal standards. Through its "Agenda 2010," which had been implemented by the SPD/Green coalition government, the German economy has gained considerable advantages also in relationship to their French competitor - and was systematically able to enhance its predominating position within the EU. After failing to get Berlin to renounce its deregulation and austerity policy, Paris is now trying to avoid further economic decline by copying Germany's measures. Also in view of the social consequences of the German "Agenda 2010," a clear majority of the French population rejects this model. To implement its "job market reform," the French government is subverting democratic procedures to impose the reform by decree - another step toward abolishing democracy within the German-predominated EU.

(Own report) - Despite its involvement in violent activities, Berlin is intensifying its cooperation with the Crimean Tartars' Mejlis. Just recently, Mejlis Chairman Refat Chubarov visited Germany's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for political consultations. The talks were obviously not hampered by the fact that last September, Chubarov had announced a blockade of Ukrainian trade with Crimea and that in October, he had explicitly praised the blockade's grave consequences on the Crimean population - the shortages and significant price increases for staple foods. The German foreign ministry does not feel compelled to distance itself from the Mejlis, even after their activists blew up electric pylons causing extensive interruptions in the electrical supply to Crimea. German ethnicist organizations had established good relations with Chubarov and his predecessor Mustafa Jemilev, already years ago, intensifying these since 2010 to fortify anti-Russian circles following Kiev's change of government. Even though quite controversial among the Crimean Tatars, this cooperation with the Mejlis milieu is closely coordinated with the USA, Turkey under Erdoğan and other NATO member countries. The concurrency of the cooperation with the Crimean Tatars and their occasional violent protests is reminiscent of developments in Ukraine in the spring of 2013.

(Own report) - The Mejlis, a Crimean Tatar organization - banned in Russia but supported by Berlin - has announced its plans to open official representative offices in Brussels and Washington this autumn, emphasizing particularly the importance of a seat in Brussels. The Mejlis, presented in the West as the only legitimate representative body of the Crimean Tatars, is actually only representing the pro-western tendency among them, while another tendency, with pro-Russian leanings, has for years explicitly rejected its policy. This split among Crimean Tatars hails back to the final years of the Cold War, when the long-time western ally - and subsequently Mejlis Chairman - Mustafa Jemilev supported radical demands for autonomy, while pursuing a tough anti-Russian course. When, in the 1960s, Jemilev began his campaign for Crimean Tatar autonomy in the Soviet-Union, he was given western support aimed at weakening the Soviet adversary from within. At the same time, Crimean Tatars, exiled in the Federal Republic of Germany, were pursuing the same objective - "Russia's national decomposition" - as it was referred to at the time. A Crimean Tatar, who had served as a main liaison to the Nazis, subsequently continuing his collaborationist activities in the Federal Republic of Germany, assisted them and, began in the 1950s, to also work for CIA-financed organizations in Munich.

(Own report) - One of Berlin's government advisors is calling for Russia's expulsion from the Council of Europe. The Russian government's actions against the Crimean Tatars and its banning their Mejlis - a political organization - along with other measures, make it "no longer possible to justify continuing Russian membership in the Council of Europe," according to a current position statement published by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). This demand is made at a time when the Crimean Tatars have been drawn into the spotlight throughout Europe, by the openly politicized Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). Whereas public perception of Crimean Tatars has been predominated by their 1944 deportation, their collaboration with the Nazis, which had preceded their deportation, has been obscured. As historians have ascertained, in 1942, "every tenth Tatar on the Crimean Peninsula was in the military" - on the side of Nazi Germany. Crimean Tatars fought on the side of the German Wehrmacht against the Soviet Union, excelling in the notorious "efforts to crush the partisan movement" and turned their Jewish neighbors over to the Nazis' henchmen. Already in the 1920s, leading Tatar functionaries had complained of a "Jewification" of their communities, in their protests against Moscow's resettlement measures of Jewish families. Later, exiled Crimean Tatars volunteered their services for the West's cold war efforts to destabilize Moscow. The Mejlis, which today is quite controversial among the Crimean Tatars, stands in this tradition.

(Own report) - The participation of government members at commemorations honoring Nazi collaborators has provoked controversy in Croatia. Several Croat ministers, including the minister of culture, are expected to attend tomorrow's commemoration ceremonies for Ustasha combatants killed by Yugoslav partisans in May 1945. Croatia's Minister of Culture promotes Ustasha commemorations - heavily frequented, since years, by Croatia's rightwing extremist organizations - while spreading doubts about the Nazi collaborators' crimes. There is growing approbation among Croats for a film downplaying the slaughter committed in Croatia's Jasenovac extermination camp. The foundations for the growing prominence of Croat revisionism, accompanied by a manifestly rightwing development, were laid - with German support - at the beginning of the 1990s. Franjo Tudjman, leading politician of secessionist Croatia, at the time, had not only played down the crimes at Jasenovac, but even glorified the Ustasha. Bonn helped to impose international acceptance of Croatia's secession under Tudjman's leadership, thereby paving the way for the rise to power of Croatia's extreme right.