Tag Archives: NATO

German of the day: Kriegstüchtig

November 1, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hypocrisy Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means fit for war.

The German army. Today. Fit for war? A small town police force in US-Amerika maybe, but the Bundeswehr? It’ll never happen and everybody here knows it. How ridiculous.

German military must be ‘fit for war’ – German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said that the country’s military must become combat-ready quickly. But that will require a major long-term overhaul, and experts doubt that will be easy.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned on Sunday night that in the current global situation, Germany needed to be prepared for war and able to defend the country. But that required a fundamental re-think about what the Bundeswehr was for.

More German De-Escalation

August 12, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

The German government is still doing everything it can to prevent the war in Ukraine from escalating.

This time by sending Taurus cruise missiles.

Germany, a leading arms supplier to Ukraine, could soon supply Kyiv with Taurus cruise missiles. But differences between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius could delay delivery, as could potential modifications to the system.

German Air Force rushed to Iceland?

July 29, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness Tags: , , Leave a comment

Well, they better fly that plane back to Germany ASAP. It might be needed for national defense or something.

German Air Force rushes to Iceland in ‘Rapid Viking’ drill – The German Air Force kicked off what it called a “lean and mean” operation on Friday to demonstrate its ability to quickly deploy to Iceland as part of a two-week exercise dubbed “Rapid Viking.”

Weapons orders? Bitte!

July 7, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Home Cooking, Hypocrisy Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Please! By all means.

But to be willing to actually use them ourselves? Nein, danke!

German Defense Companies Could Be Europe’s Arsenal of Democracy – But for the Bundeswehr to fight will take a culture shift, not just weapons orders.

More than a decade ago, the German government made the deliberate decision to kill the ability of the Bundeswehr, Germany’s military, to fight a conventional land war in Europe and strip it of the equipment, manpower, and resources to do so. In 1990, as the Cold War was ending, the then-West German Bundeswehr alone was still able to field 215 combat battalions in a high state of readiness. Today, Germany has around 34 battalions, and the word “combat” is a bit of a misnomer. They are at such a low state of military readiness that when the 10th Tank Division conducted an exercise late last year, its entire deployed fleet of 18 Puma infantry fighting vehicles broke down…

Shouldn’t You Unveil A First-Ever Army First?

June 14, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

This is kind of like leading from behind. Or being led from a behind, if you get my drift.

Germany to unveil first-ever National Security Strategy – Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is set to unveil Germany’s first National Security Strategy on Wednesday which aims to provide an overview of the country’s foreign policy and ensure a cohesive cross-ministry approach to security.

Germany has had policy documents in the past addressing security but Scholz’s three-way coalition agreed it wanted a more comprehensive strategy in its pact in November 2021.

There’s Something In The Air

June 13, 2023 By in Hard Facts Tags: , , , Leave a comment

After six years of careful planning, NATO officially launched its 2023 Air Defender military exercise in Germany on Monday; 23 NATO countries—including newest member Finland—will participate, as will nonmember Sweden, whose bid to join the alliance has been stalled by Turkey and Hungary. Japan, which last month began talks to establish the bloc’s first liaison base in Asia to counter China, is also participating as an observer.

Germany May Be Arming Ukraine

May 8, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

But it clearly has no intention of arming itself.

This is still considered news?

Germany is finally focusing on defending NATO, but its military ‘lacks almost everything’ it needs to do it, a former German general says.

In the early years after the Cold War, the military of the reunited Germany — comprising the West German Bundeswehr and parts of East Germany’s National Volksarmee — was a large, well-trained, and well-equipped force.

In 1990, that force had almost 500,000 personnel. Today, the German military is just 183,000-strong, and it can’t meet its recruiting goals. In 2018, half of its jet fighters and none of its six submarines were rated ready for combat. In 2022, German commanders complained that their Puma infantry fighting vehicles were plagued by defects.

Me Too

April 21, 2023 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, History Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I miss the Cold War too. Good times. MAD times (Mutually Assured Destruction).

How I do wish we could turn back the clock.

After the wall came down – with the more benign cousin of today’s callous capitalism the victor – we took a summer trip to Berlin in the ever-dependable family BMW (it looked like an East German Trabbi compared to modern cars today). I remember sitting in the back listening to Madonna’s latest album on my Walkman as the bright energetic Berlin streets slipped by the car window. Besides the Brandenburg Gate, we bought giant furry Russian winter hats and military cap badges and chunks of the wall being sold on lines of tables.

Happy days. The global standoff was over, with us coming out on top. How did we let that slip through our fingers?

The Leak Of All Leaks

April 12, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

This is not.

Uh, everybody knows this already. Is it still considered a leak if everybody knew it already? I mean, if it was already leaking? Like, heavily? Germany has never been able to fulfill its NATO obligations. That’s just what it does. That’s its business model.

Germany can’t fulfill NATO obligations, says army chief in leaked memo – A division promised to the transatlantic military alliance isn’t fully battle-ready.

You Can Always Count On Us

April 2, 2023 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hypocrisy Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

To not be counted on.

Don’t thank us. It’s just what we do. Or don’t do, in this case.

German minister expects Bundeswehr shortages beyond 2030.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said the country’s military, the Bundeswehr, will not be able to bridge gaps in funding and supplies by 2030.

“We all know that the existing gaps cannot be completely closed by 2030… It will take years. Everyone is aware of that…”

Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a special fund to raise €100 billion for the Bundeswehr last year, although this has not yet been put to use. The government last week also earmarked €12 billion over the next nine years to supply Ukraine with newly produced weapons and ammunition rather than from German stockpiles.