Germany Prepares Military Intervention in Syria to Appease Trump
Offers to air patrol northern Syria to stave off Trump—who wants Germans in and Americans out—on trade war
The German government is preparing to provide military support for a US-planned “safe zone” in northern Syria. The zone is intended to protect the Kurdish militias, which fought against the Islamic State (IS) on the side of the US, from both Syrian and Turkish troops.
Appropriate plans are to be discussed in Berlin on Friday, when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo makes his first official visit to Germany—a visit which has been postponed several times.
Spiegel Online reported on Thursday that the German government “signaled to the US in months of secret talks that it would be prepared to participate militarily in securing the safe zone”. The Americans had “in recent months repeatedly requested for German commitment behind the scenes, for the first time on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in mid-February.”
Since then, the German government had sought “a constructive dialogue with Washington”. “In order not to put off the US once again, the Chancellor’s office, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence largely agree that one should not alienate the US regarding the Syrian issue.”
According to Spiegel Online, secret negotiations have taken place almost continuously since the Munich Security Conference. For example, in mid-March, the political heads of the German Ministry of Defence and the Pentagon, Geza Andreas von Geyr and John C. Rood, gathered together “in Berlin in strict confidence all the other nations that had previously participated in the anti-IS coalition.” In April, both the German Defence Minister, Ursula von der Leyen, and Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, travelled to Washington “to discuss the issue at the highest level.”
According to Spiegel Online it is still open how the German army will participate in the establishment of the safe zone. The dispatch of ground troops has been ruled out for political reasons, but the possibility of aerial support for a security force has been raised. To this end, Berlin made the offer to Washington of extending the German army’s current mission in Jordan.
Since June 2017, the German army has maintained its own base at a Jordanian air force base under the name “Camp Sonic”. Specially equipped Tornado jets conduct air reconnaissance for the US-led anti-IS coalition from the base. The German Air Force also refuels coalition jets over Syria from the air. The mandate for this mission expires on October 31 and, according to a decision by the German parliament, is not to be extended.
Military officials, however, assume that “the high-resolution images of ‘Tornadoes’ and aerial refuelling” would also be valuable for a future coalition, Spiegel Online reports. “Politically, the mission would also be a symbol that Germany does not refuse to participate in more difficult international missions.”
Military support of a “safe zone” in northern Syria would mean a massive escalation of Germany’s participation in the Syrian war, which from the outset was aimed at ousting the regime of Bashar al-Assad and replacing it with a Western puppet regime.
The German foreign ministry has been intensively involved in the construction of the pro-imperialist Syrian opposition, which relied mainly on al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist militias. To this end it was supported not only by the SPD and the Greens, but also by the Left Party.
Following the failure of this operation, which has cost the lives of 400,000 civilians and reduced large parts of the country to ruins, the German government is now plunging into a military adventure that involves not only confrontation with the regime in Damascus, but also with its NATO partner Turkey, Iran and the nuclear power, Russia.
Damascus rejects such a “safe zone” because it would massively curtail the country’s sovereignty. Ankara is opposed because it wants to prevent at all costs the emergence of a Kurdish state on its border, which is under the control of a PKK-affiliated organisation. Tehran, which is being economically starved by the US and threatened with a devastating war, is closely allied with both Damascus and Ankara. And Moscow, which supports the Assad regime militarily and maintains close ties with Tehran and Ankara, quite rightly views the Western offensive in the Middle East as part of a containment strategy against Russia.
Should the German government accede to Pompeo’s request for military support for the establishment of a “safe zone”, then the official propaganda machinery will immediately begin to proclaim that such a mission is a “humanitarian action” aimed at protecting lives, or a “fight against a dictatorial regime” or something similar. This was already the pattern in the Afghanistan, Iraq and Libyan wars. The latter also began with the establishment of a “safe zone”, which then provided the pretext for bombing the country and overthrowing the Gaddafi regime.
No credence should be given to such lies. Washington and its European allies, including Berlin, are pursuing naked imperialist interests in their wars in the Middle East—control of oil, gas and markets, repression and weakening of their rivals, and strengthening their own position as a world power.
Five years ago the German government announced—in the words of then Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier—that it is no longer prepared “to comment on world politics from the sidelines” and intends instead “to engage in foreign and security policy earlier, more decisively and more substantially”. Since then Berlin has been massively upgrading its military forces. In the powder keg of today’s Middle East, the Germany elite sees another welcome opportunity to translate its goals into action—even at the risk of a Third World War.
Merkel does her best, but she has some serious vulnerabilities that the thugs now running American foreign policy are able to exploit.
If you have an “ally” who never stops putting pressure on you and who threatens you behind the scenes with “consequences,” unless you are a truly audacious and brave statesman, it is almost impossible not to bend, at least somewhat.
It is the degree of the bending that becomes the topic of “negotiations” with the United States.
Merkel is always concerned that the US will impose serious new sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia.
It is a vital project for Germany. Without it, the country faces severe energy shortages in a couple of years. Of course, there is the alternative of buying costly LNG shipped from America, but in economic and competitive terms, that is a non-starter. However, in even avoiding it, because the US has certainly tried pushing its LNG down Germany’s throat, you again put yourself in an unfavorable light with American authorities.
Were it the US, or Israel, facing something like a serious near-future energy shortage, it would of course insist on its existential importance, and there would be no negotiations of any kind around that.
But here we have the world’s bully throwing its weight around in a country that has for years been extremely passive and submissive. The German psyche of course was immensely affected by all the horrors of WWII and being occupied, as it is to this day.
Germany is also concerned about the new international European payment system intended to help Iran survive the ravages of America’s all out assault on its economic interests and intended to keep Iran faithful to its side of the international nuclear agreement that the US tore-up like an angry child. America doesn’t like that idea at all.
Further, Germany, more than any country, naturally, has been very self-demeaning towards Israel and its many demands over the years. It has treated Israel with exceptional generosity, in everything from paying truly massive reparations to building it a small fleet of advanced submarines at knock-down prices.
It is obviously extremely hard for Germany to disagree strongly with Israel on anything, and on the matters of American-occupied Syria and the American aggression towards Iran, it is Israel behind the scenes making the demands of Trump, completely. The US itself has absolutely no national interest in pursuing either of those initiatives, and neither does Germany.
Trump has pushed his own country into a quagmire with his soliciting big funds and support, against the possible impeachment he feared and for 2020 re-election funding, from wealthy Americans more interested in Israel than in almost anything else, and he paid a big price for that support, just part of which is having appointed teeth-baring baboons like Bolton and Pompeo to important and sensitive offices.
Germany understands all of that, I’m sure, but it would never say so. And the shadow of Israel just adds to the pressures from the United States around sanctions over Nord Stream 2 and the new international payment system helping Iran.
So, for now, Germany has made this offer of assistance to America’s illegal presence in Syria. It isn’t huge in the way of things, and it remains to be seen whether it will be accepted as adequate in any way and, also, whether it will have any effect around America’s other demands and pressures.
This case provides a good microcosm of how difficult America’s new aggressive rampage has made it to bring any reason to bear in international affairs. It’s even more complex than what I’ve outlined. For example, there are all the sanctions against Russia that the US has insisted its European allies honor, as they have for several years, even though honoring them is literally costing billions in trade, the export of both manufactured goods and farm products to Russia.
And yet another factor here is the massive, pitiful migrations of refugees to Europe. All of it actually caused by America’s lunatic Neocon wars and bombing in a great many countries. It then takes no responsibility for what it did, leaving Europe, much closer to the tragedy, to try sorting things out.
The Trump types even add insult to injury by haranguing about migrants and about Muslims in general. I don’t believe it possible to imagine a much uglier situation, like the plot line for an atrocious movie.
Time for Turkey to send some terrorists to Germany, Merkel will get the message.
Germany should be freed from the 74 year occupation by the zionist Rats.
Speaking of the zionist “German” military.
Seems it is more of a danger to Germans than anyone else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8TaIP-TgRw
That is if Israel does not nuke Germany first and foremost. “20-30 nuclear bombs will assure the job gets done,’ opinion piece on right-wing Israel National News site says”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/op-ed-calls-on-israel-to-nuke-germany-iran/ https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/381302a26160a0b5ce1c3812fca12b36f6039860288c7b472641fc5e53999995.jpg
The US considers a safe zone one that is over protected because of the massive oil fields that are there….and which the US needs to defend to keep that oil for themselves…
Say “Thank you Germany for protecting that which we stole and killed for!!”…
“but the possibility of aerial support”
this is a joke, right?
German Air Force Only Has Four Combat-Ready Jets In Case Of Emergency
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-03/german-air-force-only-has-four-combat-ready-jets-case-emergency
Active German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Aircraft (2019)
https://www.militaryfactory.com/modern-airpower/aircraft-german-air-force.asp