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Is Conflict Creeping in? Who The enemy? German Army’s Widened Role At home

By Farooque Chowdhury

20 August, 2012
Countercurrents.org

Deepening problems push the German judiciary to empower army with widened role at home: use its weapons on German streets. Who the enemy is? Whom the European economic giant and one of the world’s six top military spenders apprehends to confront?

In an extreme situation in future, citing a German Federal Constitutional Court ruling BBC reports, the German military will be able to use its weapons in home. “The […] armed forces can be deployed only if Germany faces an assault of ‘catastrophic proportions’, but not to control demonstrations.” (“German army’s crisis role widened”, Aug. 17, 2012) The German Constitutional court earlier ruled that German troops can participate in UN peacekeeping operations outside NATO.

Limitations now being faced by the German military have been mentioned in the ruling. It now can’t shoot down a hijacked passenger plane. The hijacked plane has to be intercepted by fighter planes and fire warning shots to force it to land. Now, the ruling said, troops could be used to tackle an assault that threatens scores of casualties. The ruling must be approved by the federal government, which has already trampled its propagated peaceful stance by its Balkan and Afghanistan expeditions.

Severe restrictions on military deployments were set down by the post-Third Reich West German constitution: “No German boots on foreign soil”. It ruled that soldiers could not be deployed with guns at the ready on German soil. But now the major player in Europe feels the other way, a pressure from within.

With increasing global involvement of the export-dependent economy Bundeswehr, the claimed purely defensive German armed forces, gradually have been deployed with an aggressive role in other countries including Afghanistan. The Balkans received actions of German warplanes, a smaller part of a bigger NATO “game”. Involvement in these two theaters has made the country’s armed forces the vanguard of NATO. The German military, the third biggest troop supplier in Afghanistan, is going through reform including end of conscription with plan to play professional military role around the world as a “normal” military power. It prepares the army in an effective way to meet emerging security challenges.

During discussions with Sigrid Ulrich of euronews, Wolfgang Ischinger, head of the Munich Security Conference, said: “The world has changed dramatically in recent years. Germany’s security can no longer be defined by its borders alone. We live in a world where threats or risks affect our country, our European region from far away. The army has to adapt to that […]”(July 5, 2011)

Ischinger said: A task of political leadership is to “convince the German population that turning a blind eye to problems abroad does not make us safer. That does not mean that German soldiers should go anywhere in the world where things are on fire. It means intervening in places where our security is thrown into question, that we can do that if we have to.”

On the issue of “our security”, whether it is a “German security or a wider concept”, and whether “Germany’s decision a signal for Europe or a response to new types of conflict” Ischinger said: “A professional army is more Europe-effective than the traditional volunteer army. I think by going through this transition, Germany will be even fitter for Europe. German security is part of European security, and the more we think along European lines the more we are on the right track.”

Very significant indication is “convince the German population”. There is politics, there is propaganda. The terminal point is unknown, and unknown is the possible rise of ultimate player with the job of “convincing the population”.

The German state’s post-WWII protector-partner, the US, also feels that the European economic power should assume bigger responsibility. Auxiliaries are required as the ally feels the burden of waging wars in corners of the world stressful. The logic is: Tax payers in other countries should also bear the burden of mounting invasions.

The Atlantic Council, one of leading US think tanks, in its Anchoring the Alliance (May, 2012) report had a critical tone about Germany for problems facing NATO. “A stronger Germany”, the report suggested, “would be the greatest boost to NATO’s future.”

It mentioned less German involvement as the country behaves like a “lost nation” in the area of political and military leadership. “A weak Germany that lacks a capacity to act globally will inevitably weaken NATO. Europe cannot remain a major force within the NATO […] if a country of Germany’s size, geography, and prosperity makes the kind of deep reductions in defense spending announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government in 2011.”

Other than the partner’s felt need, economic interests of the Europe’s most industrialized country and one of Western Europe’s three top spenders require military muscle.

But the economy was not behaving in a friendly way. It came across budget deficits. As part of efforts to reduce budget deficits Germany made cuts in military budgets in 2011.

“The after-effects of the global economic crisis,” said Dr. Sam Perlo-Freeman, head of the SIPRI Military Expenditure Project, “especially deficit-reduction measures in the USA and Europe, have finally brought the decade-long rise in military spending to a halt — at least for now.”

But, reduction in military spending does not fit in the economy. Interests are there that require increase in military spending. The interests – arms production and trade – allure, bargain, provoke, press as they are part of the economy and political set up.

So, German defense spending was planned to rise to 31.7 billion euros under a 306 billion-euro 2012 federal budget presented to parliament on Sept. 7, 2011. “Germany needs combat-ready and serviceable armed forces, which […] match the international significance and weight of our country”, said Thomas de Maizière, the German defense minister.

But, crisis is haunting the economy. The Great Financial Crisis delivered a heavy hit to the export-dependent economy that went through the worst recession since 1949 as it officially entered the recession period in 2008 November. A month earlier, in October, the economy had to agree to a $68bn plan to save Hypo Real Estate, one of its largest banks, from collapse. Within months, in February, 2009, the state approved $63bn stimulus package. By August, 2009, the economy claimed of getting out of recession although it shrank by 5% in 2009. The second quarter of 2011 experienced an almost dead end in growth. The following months gradually brought slightly better news from investment and export sectors.

Floyd Norris wrote in The New York Times: “In the early months of recovery, Germany may have benefited from its neighbors’ weaknesses. Its companies were better positioned to export, both within Europe and outside it, thanks in part to Germany’s having held down the growth in labor costs. But now it appears that the weakness of its trading partners may be slowing Germany’s economy, at the same time that borrowing costs are rising for those countries. (“In Europe, Even a Powerhouse Is Losing Steam”, Nov. 18, 2011)

Labor, in home and neighboring countries, was made to pay the cost for competitive edge.

Norbert Walter, chief economist emeritus for Deutsche Bank, wrote in The New York Times, outlook for the strongest economy in Europe is “not nearly as rosy as people imagine.” (“Germany’s Hidden Weaknesses”, February 9, 2012) “German companies continued to increase their market share in world exports. With only about 1 percent of the world’s labor force, last year Germany produced about 10 percent of global exports. […] In fact, the country’s debt-to-G.D.P. ratio has risen from just below 60 percent to almost 80 percent, a bearable number in a strong economy but dangerously high should things slow down.” (ibid.)

Walter puts forth a few vital questions: “Is now a time to rejoice? Is Germany the star performer, the role model to be emulated? Or is the start of 2012 just a snapshot, showing a series of lucky coincidences that should not be misread as structural strengths? With some qualifications, I believe it is the latter.”

Along with the reality, the specter of debt crisis was unfolding its wings across the German frontier. The Greek debt tragedy threatened to shatter the entire Euro zone. There were Italy, Spain and Portugal also. There was rivalry with the French bankers. In 2011, the German parliament approved a 22.4bn euro contribution to bail out Greece. The stake was high – the bankers’ interest.

However, the German voters had a different preference. Following election results in North Rhine-Westphalia, the country’s industrial heartland and most populous state, brought bad news for a section of the German ruling elites: Angela Merkel got annoying signal.

The bankers’ dictated and assembly line-made austerity measures imposed on peoples in countries in Europe faced opposition from peoples. Despite weaknesses in terms of theory, political preparation, program, organization and leadership the peoples’ protests were bold and strong.

Citing stalled recovery, havoc on human lives, social discontent and voters’ voice in elections in European countries former banker, Dr Tan Sri Lin See-Yan writes: “The anti-austerity wave […] can’t be ignored. […] Europe is in a mess. Growth has been falling back for decades. In the 70s, GDP growth averaged 3.2% annually; in the 80s, 2.5%; in the 90s, 2.2% and in the 00s, 1.2%. […] Europe is running out of time. (“A summer of discontent, What are we to do”, The Star, Malaysia, May 19, 2012)

Dr. Lin refers to the head of the Deutsche Bundesbank: “Monetary policy has reached its limits, the fiscal compact precludes discretionary fiscal policy, the currency union lacks fiscal solidarity.”

Peoples’ pains are still unfathomable. Still unknown is the possible chain reaction of the austerity measures, which are robbing the peoples in time of their distress, appropriating the peoples’ last penny, brutally appropriating even their necessary labor time, appropriating the retired, the old, appropriating their last savings, which is part of their necessary labor time. Individual’s knowledge, education, training, skill, time and social position are being made worthless by capital in countries. Living conditions of the people are providing ingredients to individual, isolated, sporadic and collective protests. The ruling elites in societies going through the grinding experience of financial and economic crises have made a resource deficit situation for the peoples.

Moreover, peoples in countries are experiencing that states are discarding its propagated obligation to their citizens. The ruling elites’ forceful imposition of austerity measures, their intercontinental, inter-institutional, inter-bank, inter-political party alliances are making people politically alienated. Individuals’ discontents across society in countries are contributing to wide and general discontent.

Weakness in class-conscious leadership and organization makes the situation utterly uncertain, and a hot bed of anarchism and adventurism. Capital can’t accommodate anarchism and adventurism for too long. On the other hand, capital can’t facilitate class- conscious organization and leadership. The only way out for capital is strong arm tactic. The German judiciary has responded to the situation within this perspective and within its class- capacity.

The public sentiment is evident in elections results in a number of European countries. Suicides in increasing number, work stoppage, demonstrations, marches across regions, forceful clashes, strikes for longer periods, general strikes in countries show the strong undercurrent of discontent. Two incidents, mentioned below, are evidence of the discontent.

Rocker Bruce Springsteen, a long time champion of people’s causes, echoed a deeper discontent with financiers and bankers at a Berlin Olympic Stadium concert attended by more than 50,000 fans, railing against finankers as “greedy thieves” and “robber barons”. “In America, a lot of people have lost their jobs”, said Springsteen. “In Europe and in Berlin, times are tough. This song is for all those who are struggling”, he added, which was followed by Jack of All Trades that includes the lyrics: “The banker man grows fat, working man grows thin …There’s a new world coming, I can see the light.”

In France, Indignez-Vous!, Time for Outrage, a pamphlet by 93-year old Stéphane Frédéric Hessel, a WWII resistance fighter, is now highly popular among the youth. It’s also highly popular in countries across continents. It calls on the youth to revolt against injustice and the endless competition of all against all.

Is it the discontent capital likes to confront? Is it the labor capital plans to subdue permanently?

In countries, capital is waging class war against labor, the working people. Its austerity measures have intensified the class war. Its measures indicate increasing tension within society, indicate capital’s intensified contradiction with labor.

Matured and conscious labor shall not resort to adventurism and anarchism, shall not resort to steps hurting life. Nazism, its present brand neo-Nazism, in essence racism, and retrogressive ideology and ideas bred, fanned up and befriended by capital resort to actions with catastrophic consequences that hurt life and political struggle of labor. Then, state’s arming itself with power is either fighting with its soul or expressing threat to labor. Capital’s fight within self, with its friends or yesterday-friends is reflection of capital’s crisis. But, in the name of fighting those elements capital shall attempt to exert pressure on labor.

But, rage of rebellion fears no frontier, especially in Europe. It’s sometimes contagious, especially in time peoples in countries bear the same burden and have the same experience. So, the German state arms itself with judicial approval, and the power of arms is being felt within and outside of the state frontier.

Dhaka-based Farooque Chowdhury is a free lancer.




 

 


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