The neo-conservative establishment in Washington DC has long since been discredited but it still holds sway at The Washington Post. Ever since Donald Rumsfeld railed against "Old Europe" in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq it has been popular to bash Germany for its "pacifism". That is certainly the case today with Anne Applebaum's op/ed piece: Germany's Dangerous Code of Silence. Applebaum is astonished that Germans would be upset that their president, Horst Koehler, connected Germany's mission in Afghanistan to protecting Germany's export markets:
But Koehler's second blunder was worse: By declaring that Germany is a
large country with a large export sector and economic interests around
the world, Koehler broke the even more powerful taboo forbidding German
politicians to speak of any use of the military in any foreign
engagement. Germany's passivity is a matter of national pride, German
pacifism is written into its constitution, and Germans don't talk about
themselves as "a country of our size." In polite company, Germans
never, ever talk about using the military "in an emergency to protect
our interests."
Germany needs to "get with the program", relish the participation in American-led wars, and throw off the delusions of pacifism:
Germany really does have many economic interests outside of Europe,
too, including in several countries that could well present military
challenges to the West someday. Iran — where Germany is one of the largest outside investors
— comes to mind, as do China and Russia. In an Iranian-Israeli fight,
would pacifist Germany stay neutral? What if China attacked Taiwan, or
Russia went to war with Ukraine?
The war in Afghanistan is deeply unpopular in Germany. Koehler's remarks only rubbed salt in the wound and a skeptical German public is asking the question that Americans are too resigned or too apathetic to ask: why are we fighting a war we will never win? Or maybe Germans take seriously their Grundgesetz (Basic Law) – which Applebaum never read – which stipulates that war is a last resort for defense purposes only. Or perhaps they just remember their Fontane.
