What's up with the Germans? And what are the Russians up to? Is there a Zimmerman Email?
Not hearing a lot of news on the foiled coup plot in Germany:
Three alpaca stared bleakly at us as we rounded what seemed like the umpteenth sharp bend along the rural roads of the east German region of east Thuringia.
Looming behind the animals, perched on a hill, we finally saw what we'd travelled all this way for: the stone turreted towers of the neo-Gothic hunting lodge, Schloss Waldmannsheil.
HQ, to a large extent, until this Wednesday, for an eclectic group of plotters, hoping to take over the German parliament and destroy the structures of modern Germany, replacing them with a monarchical system, with a Prince at its head, whose family used to rule this region for hundreds of years before World War One.
And all this to be done and dusted by Christmas.
Sound incredible, almost unbelievable?
I had to search for that story. My normal feeds are really quiet since the initial stories on the arrests.
The thousands of potential coup supporters called "Reichsbürger" don't sound all that coup-like. We have such in America, called "sovereign citizens." There is an African-American centered version whose name escapes me now. There may be Hispanic and Asian groups for all I know.
And some of the statistics
trotted out in support of the threat seem very misleading. Could apply
to any country. And even if true, so what? Lots of people could believe lots of dangerous things, no?
Further, how many of these people are from the former East Germany, and the result of that trauma for so many who miss communist authoritarianism?
So are the Germans nuts or coup plotters? Could be both, of course. I don't mean to sound like I'm dismissing them. But the the tone of the news that is out there is odd for such a major plot, no?
So yes, it does sound incredible. Including the tidbit that the 71-year-old German prince at the center of this plot has a "far younger Russian girlfriend who tried to get backing for the planned coup from the Kremlin[.]"
Huh.
Yet it is only almost unbelievable. Almost as unbelievable as the German effort to get Mexico to go to war with America to distract America and keep it from sending troops to Europe in World War I.
Throwing Germany into chaos would really cripple the NATO effort to supply Ukraine given Germany's geography and NATO bases there. To say NATO would be distracted by such an event is a gross understatement.
Is the relative silence on this event the result of great care on Germany's part because of potential links to a desperate Russia? We saw how amateurish Russian interference in our 2016 election was. I can totally see Russians in the intelligence apparatus thinking a coup in Germany would solve Russia's problem in Ukraine. Putin didn't have to know or approve, I'd guess.
I have no evidence. Just a nagging suspicion based on the desperate need of Russia to throttle NATO's support for Ukraine to avoid getting totally defeated in Putin's failing war of conquest.
What's happening?
UPDATE: Some news:
Any attempts to get to the bottom of the problem will need to address German society’s deeply conflicted attitude toward the military. Due largely to Germany’s fraught past, today’s soldiers are sometimes regarded with disrespect or outright suspicion. Politicians often appear reluctant to view the army as anything more than a “necessary evil.” Those who die in conflicts are described as “victims,” not “heroes.” Military celebrations meet with controversy or neglect. Many soldiers hesitate to wear their uniforms in public for fear of being verbally or physically attacked.
Germany’s reluctance to embrace its military is understandable, given its history. But holding the Bundeswehr at arm’s length risks detaching it from society and politics, potentially breeding an us-against-them mentality.
But the news is still sketchy on the actual recruitment of troops and police for the plot. It is more heavy on potential.
And if the issue is German troops being susceptible to extremist propaganda, that attitude from the public and government contributes.
If the German military isn't busy preparing to defend Germany from external threats, it's troops have too much time to contemplate how the people and politicians mistrust them for putting on a uniform to defend Germany. That breeds resentment and vulnerability to those who can demonstrate simple respect for their service.
So let me pull out the clue bat one more time:
Germany pioneered mobile warfare backed by close air support. Now, both parts of that combination are atrophied.
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.
Spend money on the military to show it is valued, and get it busy training to defeat the Russians and kill jihadis. That will take care of a lot of the extremism problem.
UPDATE: Is my speculation really out of bounds, as we watch unrest in Kosovo?
Now there is a war involving Russia and the United States. It is not going well for Russia thus far. When fighting a war, forcing the enemy to divert his attention is critical, particularly when there is – at best for Russia – a stalemate. They have looked for other ways to distract the Ukrainians, but it is the Americans that must be distracted.
I did warn about this back in the summer:
Last October I noted Serb tensions with Kosovo. In February I noted that Serbia was arming up; and in April China delivered anti-aircraft missiles to the Serbs. Are the Serbs planning to revive the Kosovo war? Is Russia pushing this to distract NATO? Tip to Instapundit.
Germany in chaos would be the ultimate distraction in Europe.
NOTE: Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
