Version 9 as in nein as in it ain’t never gonna happen.
Aiming to strengthen the Bundeswehr to match the size and punch of a medium-sized American city’s police force…
Germany’s Merz vows to build Europe’s strongest army – “Our friends and partners also expect this from us, and what’s more, they are actually demanding it,” said the new chancellor.
That means free-riding.
After solomnly commemorating the end of World War II 80 years ago…
German politicians solomnly commemorated the end of 80 years of free-riding on defense spending.
It was emotional.
Newly elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined a wreath-laying ceremony in Berlin. The Bundestag also held its own remembrance service.
And with whom?
Ukraine will be able to keep fighting, say Britain and Germany – Germany and Britain sent a message to Russia on Friday that Ukraine will be able to keep up its fight thanks to Western support, even as the U.S. pushed ahead with talks with Moscow.
The European powers for the first time co-led a meeting of the so-called Ramstein group of some 50 countries that give military support to Ukraine after Washington gave up the chair, and said they could not detect any signs that Vladimir Putin was ready for peace.
As they met, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff flew into Russia for what looked likely to be talks with the Russian president.
That means pathetic.
Trump cabinet members tear into ‘pathetic’ European allies for ‘free-loading’ in leaked messages – The messages have come to light in an extraordinary security breach after a journalist was added to a high-level messaging group by mistake.
Key members of Donald Trump’s cabinet have ripped into European allies, branding them “free-loading” and “pathetic” in extraordinary leaked messages.
The messages have come to light after The Atlantic‘s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a private Signal messaging group by mistake, by Trump’s national security adviser Michael Waltz.
Or for wear.
Or at least the German navy is.
Wow. That didn’t take very long.
German Navy sailors receive brand new uniform – With the new development of the shipboard combat suit, which began in 2023, the German Navy (Deutsche Marine) is presenting a new uniform for its seafaring personnel for the first time. The sailors will be equipped with it from the end of the year.
Not with Gen Z.
At least not with ze ones in Germany.
German army struggles to get Gen Z recruits ‘ready for war.’
Bundeswehr has a high dropout rate and the number of conscientious objectors is rising.
That means withdrawal.
Vance floats US troop withdrawal from Germany over free-speech concerns – The U.S. vice president links continued military support to Berlin’s speech policies.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday night suggested that the Trump administration could reconsider its military presence in Germany, tying continued American defense commitments to Berlin’s stance on free speech.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Vance took direct aim at Germany’s handling of online speech restrictions, warning that the American public would not support funding the country’s defense while its government cracks down on political expression.
“Think about this,” Vance said. “Germany’s entire defense is subsidized by the American taxpayer. There are thousands upon thousands of American troops in Germany today. Do you think that the American taxpayer is going to stand for that if you get thrown in jail in Germany for posting a mean tweet? Of course, they’re not.”
Really?
Germany suspects sabotage behind severed undersea cables – German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said damage to two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea looks like an act of sabotage and a “hybrid action”, without knowing who is to blame.
A 1,170km (730-mile) telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany was severed in the early hours of Monday, while a 218km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island stopped working on Sunday.
The incidents came at a time of heightened tension with Russia and Pistorius said “nobody believes that these cables were cut accidentally”.
It’s more than just getting rid of your pronouns.
German poll shows approval for more defense spending as NATO steels itself for Trump 2.0 – A majority of Germans support significant defense spending increases, an outlook that coincides with the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House and an anticipated pressure campaign on allied militaries to step up, a new public opinion survey found.
In September, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius proposed pushing the amount of spending dedicated to the military from 2% of gross domestic product to between 3 and 3.5%.
In a new poll released Monday by the Koerber-Stiftung Institute, 50% of respondents supported Pistorius’ idea, while a further 15% said even more should be spent on German defense.
Take your time, Lithuania.
You’ve got all the time in the world.
Lithuania begins construction of base for German troops near Russian border – Lithuania on Monday began construction of a military base, which will accommodate up to 4,000 combat-ready German troops once completed by the end of 2027, in the first permanent foreign deployment for the German military since World War Two.
Germany committed to deploy troops in the NATO and European Union member, which borders Russia, last year. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius compared the decision to the posting of allied forces in West Germany during the Cold War to defend Western Europe in case of a Soviet attack.
Observing Hermann 