MaxedOutMama
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
German Blood Only For Oil?
Every once in a while the diplomatic flowers blow away and the rocks of national interest are seen protruding from the European meadow. Germany has quietly disposed of its florists for now, perhaps as a result of the US election, as noted in this FAZ article:
"German Defense Minister Peter Struck has added a new dimension to the future of the EU's international military engagement. A key aim must be to secure Europe's access to energy and raw materials, he said in Berlin this week. As if that wasn't clear enough, Struck added that Europe's own interests should be the measure for the global deployment of its soldiers.
"This may come as a surprise to those who still associate Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Social Democratic-Green coalition with the old slogan “No blood for oil.“ Postwar German military activity has always been wrapped in moral cotton: peacekeeping and more recently the fight against terrorism. However, Struck's statement follows logically from Schröder's rejection of an unconditional partnership with Washington and the proclamation of a German way."
Of course, this is really nothing new. As is noted in the article:
"The strategy pursued by Schröder's government since it forced the United States to rely on a voluntary alliance of NATO members to invade Iraq has been motivated not by pacifist ideals but by economic and domestic policy interests that go beyond access to markets. Access to primary energy sources has been behind Schröder's attempt to create national energy champions that work in tandem with such countries as Russia, Norway and Libya.
"This may also have motivated Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer when he told the United States that Germany would only sign a new Iraq resolution if the Iraqi people, not U.S. oil interests, controlled the country's vast reserves. France was one of three countries with oil concessions in Saddam Hussein's Iraq."
Ah, the bracing scent of honesty - it smells like the ozone in the air after a lightening strike. The US and its partners in Iraq came under a fusillade of criticism for not bringing the UN and a "European" (read French/German) coalition into Iraq after the 3-week war. But this was motivated not by humane instincts, but by a desire to reinforce or reestablish existing contacts and contracts within the "new" Iraq. Germany was just about the first into Libya after the sanctions were lifted in the summer. As a technology exporter, Germany has had a long history of setting up industrial plants (very lucrative even if diplomatically disapproved ) in the middle east and northern Africa. Chemical plants and the like, such as the one believed to have been converted to make nerve gases in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
All of this should be read while keeping in mind the UN Oil For Food scandals (heavily publicized in Iraq) and Germany's desperate export shortfall and shaky economy. Times are tough in the buergerliche paradise, and they keep getting tougher - so tough that the post-worldwar balance of power between labor and management in Germany seems likely to shift.
"A week ago, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said Germany's export business was in brilliant condition and robust enough to weather the current euro rally. Six days later, the Federal Statistics Office published data showing the German economy virtually came to a halt in the third quarter because of slowing exports."
"German Defense Minister Peter Struck has added a new dimension to the future of the EU's international military engagement. A key aim must be to secure Europe's access to energy and raw materials, he said in Berlin this week. As if that wasn't clear enough, Struck added that Europe's own interests should be the measure for the global deployment of its soldiers.
"This may come as a surprise to those who still associate Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Social Democratic-Green coalition with the old slogan “No blood for oil.“ Postwar German military activity has always been wrapped in moral cotton: peacekeeping and more recently the fight against terrorism. However, Struck's statement follows logically from Schröder's rejection of an unconditional partnership with Washington and the proclamation of a German way."
Of course, this is really nothing new. As is noted in the article:
"The strategy pursued by Schröder's government since it forced the United States to rely on a voluntary alliance of NATO members to invade Iraq has been motivated not by pacifist ideals but by economic and domestic policy interests that go beyond access to markets. Access to primary energy sources has been behind Schröder's attempt to create national energy champions that work in tandem with such countries as Russia, Norway and Libya.
"This may also have motivated Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer when he told the United States that Germany would only sign a new Iraq resolution if the Iraqi people, not U.S. oil interests, controlled the country's vast reserves. France was one of three countries with oil concessions in Saddam Hussein's Iraq."
Ah, the bracing scent of honesty - it smells like the ozone in the air after a lightening strike. The US and its partners in Iraq came under a fusillade of criticism for not bringing the UN and a "European" (read French/German) coalition into Iraq after the 3-week war. But this was motivated not by humane instincts, but by a desire to reinforce or reestablish existing contacts and contracts within the "new" Iraq. Germany was just about the first into Libya after the sanctions were lifted in the summer. As a technology exporter, Germany has had a long history of setting up industrial plants (very lucrative even if diplomatically disapproved ) in the middle east and northern Africa. Chemical plants and the like, such as the one believed to have been converted to make nerve gases in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
All of this should be read while keeping in mind the UN Oil For Food scandals (heavily publicized in Iraq) and Germany's desperate export shortfall and shaky economy. Times are tough in the buergerliche paradise, and they keep getting tougher - so tough that the post-worldwar balance of power between labor and management in Germany seems likely to shift.
"A week ago, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said Germany's export business was in brilliant condition and robust enough to weather the current euro rally. Six days later, the Federal Statistics Office published data showing the German economy virtually came to a halt in the third quarter because of slowing exports."
