Germany, regarded as the powerful economic pivot upon which the Euro
zone of the EU rotates, has finally exposed itself as purely
"self-interested" when it comes to Putin, Russia, and Ukraine. Angela
Merkel, a child of East Germany who was awarded prizes for her
proficiency in Russian, and who is now the Chancellor of a unified
Germany, is the ace that Putin has up his sleeve. She represents, more than anything else, a continuation of the Ostpolitik started by Willy Brandt in the 1970's.
As Sumi Somaskanda so perceptively wrote on May 26, 2014 in the Washington Times,
"Chancellor Angela Merkel’s predecessors worked steadily to build trust with Moscow since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Those efforts, said Stefan Meister, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, stemmed from a sense of guilt for World War II and a sense of gratitude after German reunification. Now, 25 years later, both sides recognize the geopolitical importance of maintaining what they have built."
Here we see Willy Brandt with Willi Stoph (Prime Minister of East Germany from 1964 to 1973) in 1970. And Today?
Here is Angela and her friend Putin, recently together in Brazil enjoying the 2014 World Cup football .
However, in light of the disastrous downing of Malaysian Flight MH17, how will the cosy relationship between Angela Merkel and Putin be affected? Just a few hours ago we learn that Putin's proxies in Eastern Ukraine, the so-called Pro-Russian rebels, are now desperately trying to remove or contaminate the evidence that this plane was shot down by a Russian Missile given to the pro-Russian terrorists in Eastern Ukraine.
The Putin propaganda machine has pulled out all the stops to blame the Ukrainians for what can only be described as an act of evil. Even the International and YouTube propaganda machine of Putin viz. RT, is actually claiming that this was an assassination attempt against Putin, orchestrated by the Ukrainians. And today, 27th July, Obama and the US are blamed for the downing of MH17!
"Russia reacted angrily on Saturday to additional sanctions imposed by the European Union over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, saying they would hamper cooperation on security issues and undermine the fight against terrorism and organized crime.
Russia's Foreign Ministry also accused the United States, which has already imposed its own sanctions against Moscow, of contributing to the conflict in Ukraine through its support for the pro-Western government in Kiev."
Apparently the Ukrainians thought this plane contained Putin on his way back from Brazil. To what depths will the propaganda machine of Putin sink to save him from the stench now emanating from the Kremlin?
Does Putin even care what the world thinks of him? Is it finally emerging that he has "lost the plot", as Merkel has suggested?
More importantly, as Tom Nichols so eloquently points out,
"Now that a civilian airliner has been blown out of the sky by a Russian missile, however, there can be no further denial that Russia is actively pursuing a major proxy war against its neighbor in the center of Europe, and with a brutality that would make the now-departed marshals of the old Soviet high command smile with approval. This is no longer a war on Ukraine, but a war on the entire post-Cold War international order."
Even in light of this disastrous event, that has the fingerprints of Putin and the Kremlin all over it; Merkel simply continues to wring her hands in anguish, whilst assuring German businessmen that it is still "business as usual" with Putin and his kleptocratic FSB Mafia clan. So while the UN Security Council calls for a "full, thorough and independent international investigation [into the downing of MH17], Merkel rather weakly calls for a "ceasefire" whilst German businessmen continue to stride with their jackboots over the Ukrainian peoples to suck at the teats of the corrupt Russian economic cow!
And not only Merkel! Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany stated in an interview on 25th July that:
"We remain true to our course: cleverly calibrated and mutually agreed measures to raise the pressure and toward a willingness to have serious talks with Russia" But, unfortunately, this change of heart on the part of Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is as weak as Angela Merkel wringing her hands at the criminal behaviour of Putin. As the Economist stated on 26th July,
"Germany for its part would be expected to contribute by restricting Russia’s access to high technology, especially in the energy sector.
That is more conceivable than it was; German opinion seems to be turning. “Nobody can blame Germany for not having taken efforts to talk,” says the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “But Russia did not stick to the agreements to the necessary extent.” The day after the foreign ministers’ meeting Germany’s mass-circulation Bild, unimpressed, ran a headline mocking the EU for its Empoerend Untaetig—outrageous inactivity. But if this signals a new German toughness, it is a stance that will build up over months or years, not in weeks."
It would seem that only David Cameron, out of the many EU leaders, is willing to publicly stand up to Vladimir Putin over this isuue.
(to be continued ...)
As Sumi Somaskanda so perceptively wrote on May 26, 2014 in the Washington Times,
"Chancellor Angela Merkel’s predecessors worked steadily to build trust with Moscow since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Those efforts, said Stefan Meister, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, stemmed from a sense of guilt for World War II and a sense of gratitude after German reunification. Now, 25 years later, both sides recognize the geopolitical importance of maintaining what they have built."
Here is Angela and her friend Putin, recently together in Brazil enjoying the 2014 World Cup football .
However, in light of the disastrous downing of Malaysian Flight MH17, how will the cosy relationship between Angela Merkel and Putin be affected? Just a few hours ago we learn that Putin's proxies in Eastern Ukraine, the so-called Pro-Russian rebels, are now desperately trying to remove or contaminate the evidence that this plane was shot down by a Russian Missile given to the pro-Russian terrorists in Eastern Ukraine.
The Putin propaganda machine has pulled out all the stops to blame the Ukrainians for what can only be described as an act of evil. Even the International and YouTube propaganda machine of Putin viz. RT, is actually claiming that this was an assassination attempt against Putin, orchestrated by the Ukrainians. And today, 27th July, Obama and the US are blamed for the downing of MH17!
"Russia reacted angrily on Saturday to additional sanctions imposed by the European Union over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, saying they would hamper cooperation on security issues and undermine the fight against terrorism and organized crime.
Russia's Foreign Ministry also accused the United States, which has already imposed its own sanctions against Moscow, of contributing to the conflict in Ukraine through its support for the pro-Western government in Kiev."
Apparently the Ukrainians thought this plane contained Putin on his way back from Brazil. To what depths will the propaganda machine of Putin sink to save him from the stench now emanating from the Kremlin?
Does Putin even care what the world thinks of him? Is it finally emerging that he has "lost the plot", as Merkel has suggested?
More importantly, as Tom Nichols so eloquently points out,
"Now that a civilian airliner has been blown out of the sky by a Russian missile, however, there can be no further denial that Russia is actively pursuing a major proxy war against its neighbor in the center of Europe, and with a brutality that would make the now-departed marshals of the old Soviet high command smile with approval. This is no longer a war on Ukraine, but a war on the entire post-Cold War international order."
Even in light of this disastrous event, that has the fingerprints of Putin and the Kremlin all over it; Merkel simply continues to wring her hands in anguish, whilst assuring German businessmen that it is still "business as usual" with Putin and his kleptocratic FSB Mafia clan. So while the UN Security Council calls for a "full, thorough and independent international investigation [into the downing of MH17], Merkel rather weakly calls for a "ceasefire" whilst German businessmen continue to stride with their jackboots over the Ukrainian peoples to suck at the teats of the corrupt Russian economic cow!
And not only Merkel! Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany stated in an interview on 25th July that:
"We remain true to our course: cleverly calibrated and mutually agreed measures to raise the pressure and toward a willingness to have serious talks with Russia" But, unfortunately, this change of heart on the part of Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is as weak as Angela Merkel wringing her hands at the criminal behaviour of Putin. As the Economist stated on 26th July,
"Germany for its part would be expected to contribute by restricting Russia’s access to high technology, especially in the energy sector.
That is more conceivable than it was; German opinion seems to be turning. “Nobody can blame Germany for not having taken efforts to talk,” says the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “But Russia did not stick to the agreements to the necessary extent.” The day after the foreign ministers’ meeting Germany’s mass-circulation Bild, unimpressed, ran a headline mocking the EU for its Empoerend Untaetig—outrageous inactivity. But if this signals a new German toughness, it is a stance that will build up over months or years, not in weeks."
It would seem that only David Cameron, out of the many EU leaders, is willing to publicly stand up to Vladimir Putin over this isuue.
(to be continued ...)
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