Europe Ruins the Day….Again

In yet another move indicative of the complete lack of understanding Germany has regarding international relations, Gerhard Schröder has said that “I see no possibility other than reaching a resolution through negotiations…” Yes Gerhard, if we just keep talking to Iran, we can definitely convince them to stop trying to build nuclear weapons. After all, the tongue is mightier than the sword right? This sounds familiar. We all just have different views on the matter right?

However, given the upcoming elections in September, Schröder and the SPD will be unwilling to even discuss the use of force as they are already in desperate need of votes. The Iraq war didn’t hurt his past election and the US should be careful not to make too much of an issue of Iran yet in order to avoid giving the SPD additionally support. Though Iran is clearly a threat, we have more time to deal with it than with countries like North Korea. And, of the utmost importance is that we very clearly outline the dangers of a nuclear Iran, the consequences for the entire world (concentrating on Europe), of their support for terrorism and that we layout a clear plan of action detailing the diplomatic and military routes and where the end of the diplomatic road is. The Europeans are already quite skeptical of the US given our poor salesmanship on Iraq and we’ll have to work twice as hard to get them on board for action against Iran.

Thus, Europe continues to appease terrorists and rogue states. If anyone should know the danger of appeasement and its consequences, it should be the Germans! Yet, though I have my differences with the German government, I can’t blame them entirely as their constituency is mostly to blame. Why are the Germans so eager to allow anyone to do what they want while the Iranians and North Koreans happily pursue WMD?

1) Memories of WWII and especially the RAF
2) Fear of terrorist attacks in Germany
3) Education which places too much value on peace and pacifism
4) Failure to truly understand the terrorist and rougue state threat
5) Unwillingness to take Risks

Despite the fact that German elections are coming which will likely lead to a new government, these issues remain important and will remain largely unchanged after September. The question is, how can they be solved?