Thread: Germanys defies US pressure to get involved in Libya

American criticism of Germany for refusing to support the bombing campaign against Ghaddafi has been getting harsher recently with a new request by the Obama administration for military support turned down by Berlin. In a Spiegel interview defence minister De Maiziere talks about the reasons for his governements scepticism and the future of NATO from Germanys perspective :

SPIEGEL Interview with Defense Minister De Maizière: 'We Will Not Get Involved' in Syria - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Thanks for posting. I think he makes some good arguments.
I especially do agree with the position that "Not getting involved is just as hard of a decision as getting involved... and when a government decides to get involved it's their responsibility to know how they can end it with the means at their disposal.

Surprisingly reasonable.
I think he is propably one of the best Ministers currently. Not difficult though...

It shows what a joke the EU's dream of having a common EU foreign policy and an EU military is when Britain, France, Italy, Spain and other EU countries are taking part in the Libya campaign and Germany and others aren't.

It probably won't be long before the Eurotrons come on here and attack me for being deluded but I think I am exactly right in what I say.

If you want to sit at the adult table, you have to be willing to get your hands dirty.

On the other hand, Obama's execution of the operation has been pathetic, and Europe's contribution embarrassing.

I can understand not wanting to hitch their wagon to this one.

Personally, I thought it was a pretty good interview with reasonable points being made. If Germany has decided to remain defiant in getting involved in Libya, then so be it. It should have been pretty clear way back when who would most likely help and who would sit this one out. It really is no shock at all that in the end it falls on the US to handle this while the EU remains very divided on how to handle this.

It looks like the Brits are about done: RAF feeling the strain of Libya mission

Germany is a thousand miles closer to libya then we are and they are not affraid. Unlike the US, not every country lives in complete terror.

Originally Posted by Sir Drinkalot

It shows what a joke the EU's dream of having a common EU foreign policy and an EU military is when Britain, France, Italy, Spain and other EU countries are taking part in the Libya campaign and Germany and others aren't.

It probably won't be long before the Eurotrons come on here and attack me for being deluded but I think I am exactly right in what I say.

NEVER FORGET:Britain, France, Italy, Spain and EVEN GERMANY were among the first to invade on (what to them were new lands settled by in thier opinion "ITO" an inferior race of people with spoils there for the taking and take them they did.

We have shared in the spoils and have blood up to our arm pits and then some including our own in the efforts to embrace for all time those spoils.

Our presidents were elected to protect the USA not the world from encroachment by others. and to develop a superior military for that purpose.

It is said "God made man in the image of himself. We are not God and have no mandate to install DEMOCRACY around the globe at the cost of American or any other lives. Direct attack or other means used to throttle our existence should be countered with the use of our very best weapon and then retire and observe results. If we are so foolish as to "jointly" commit our selves So Be It. ! I thought we had a bomb that killed humans but left the infrastructure ? Regardless stop pulling our string !

France and Britain, having taken the lead, will benefit most from oil contracts in the new Libya. Germany will probably be shut out, and the US, who led from behind will likely also not get the prime contracts.

This war is outrageous. The NATO resolution only allowed a no-flyzone.

But Italy, France and other countries have supplied weapons, not withstanding a weapons embargo. They bombarded a lot more than necessary for the no-flyzone. Al-Jazeera filmed Western troops on Libya soil, and now we're even hunting at Kadhaffi!


But the European press remains silent. Shame! I doubt they would have been this silent when uncle sam was pulling the strings.