Is this nonsense excuse for Germany to rely on others for defense incapable of being killed?
Modern Germany, says Sheehan, "thinks of its military very much the way most states think of their police force".
What he calls a "persistent distrust of military institutions," he adds, "continues to be strong, and in some ways has become stronger".
Underlying all this is the enduring memory of the horrors of World War Two - not only the shame of Nazi crimes but also the devastation inflicted on civilians.
Let me (again) apply the clue bat:
I keep reading that the Germans hate their militaristic past so much that they don't want to fight.
Let's try applying the clue bat to Germany's collective skull on this issue.
Conquering and setting up death camps under the shield of a powerful military? That's bad. By all means, don't do that.
Having a military capable of fighting death cult enemies or stopping the Russians from moving west? Well, that's a good thing. Try doing that.
Why do people essentially justifying Germany's refusal to shoulder their share of the burden of defending the West go back to Nazi Germany as the alternative to Germany's conveniently low-cost pacifism?
Consider that the Cold War West German military was formidable. Even in 1995 (which is the oldest Military Balance I have), Germany spend 2.2% of its GDP on defense.
Germany had an army of over 250,000 with nearly 3,000 tanks in 3 airborne, 9 tank, 10 mechanized infantry, and 1 mountain brigades. Plus odds and ends.
The German navy had 17 submarines, 14 principal surface combatants, and 36 smaller vessels and 40 mine warfare ships. And the navy had 54 fighter planes.
The air force had just under 500 combat aircraft!
And this is after being drawn down from Cold War levels! Guilt from World War II didn't stop Germany from having a good military then. Why now?
Today, the British would call the police if the German army was reported to have landed on the Dover coastal region.
Envisioning a German military capable of fighting in defense of NATO and the West does not need to go back to Nazi Germany.
Seriously, are people worried that after 60 years of being part of the democratic and free West that Germany is in danger of getting aggressive imperial ambitions again with a side trip of genocide?
Just go back 20 years to a democratic Germany that still had a sizable military even if it didn't reach Cold War levels. NATO defenses would be good if Germany built the force structure of the mid-1990s.
Just stop the Nazi excuses for refusing to help defend the West.
