Willkommen zum Krieg, Herr Verteidigungsminister
„Ich verneige mich in Dankbarkeit und Anerkennung vor den Toten, die für unser Land im Einsatz für den Frieden gefallen sind",
Roughly translated: "I bow in gratitude and respect for the dead who have fallen for our country while serving the cause of peace."
Could the Germans be "getting it"? That would be fabulous.
„Ich verneige mich in Dankbarkeit und Anerkennung vor den Toten, die für unser Land im Einsatz für den Frieden gefallen sind",
Roughly translated: "I bow in gratitude and respect for the dead who have fallen for our country while serving the cause of peace."
Could the Germans be "getting it"? That would be fabulous.
Perhaps I'm not getting it. I'd need to know the dead to which the Germans refer. Can you provide an explanation here?
ReplyDeleteAm I exhibiting a little too much concern that this quote might refer to Nazi Germany, given that racism is on the rise?
Just a concern, Maggie.
This link was embedded in the German headline
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2008/10/willkommen_zum.html
This is about our hope the German's are finally understanding their role in the GWOT.
Their attitude in Afghanistan is deplorable. The Germans should not be sitting in FOBs working at not "carrying the American's water". They need to see winning in Afghanistan as in their own best interest.
The words were spoken at this funeral -
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/5KNIayn3vgX/Funeral+Service+German+Soldiers+Killed+Afghanistan/DraWv-ERz2R
by German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung
und kann Gott meine gefallenen Bruder-Fallschirmjäger segnen.
ReplyDeleteYes, Anthony, God bless them.
ReplyDeleteGotcha. Thanks for the explanation.
ReplyDelete"Entweder bekämpfen wir den Terrorismus in Afghanistan oder der Terrorismus kommt zu uns" = "Either we fight terrorism in Afghanistan or it will come to us".
From the beginning of the Iraq war, I felt Afghanistan was a more important place to deploy troops than Iraq. So does Obama "...we have to understand that the situation is precarious and urgent here in Afghanistan. And I believe this has to be our central focus, the central front, on our battle against terrorism..."
No soldier who serves her/his country should fail to be recognized.
Ahh, Stella, Obama is not the only one who recognizes the importance of the front in Afghanistan. He is merely one of the people who fails to understand why it's not the only front in this war. He is one of the people who fails to grasp the with Iraq and Afghanistan, it's not an either/or deal.
ReplyDeleteWhat is important to see is the difference in how these wars were/are being fought.
We have been up until now fighting the war in Afghanistan in the Euro-weenie way. Multilateral-coalition-NATO-power-sharing way. Just as John Kerry and Barack Obama and others screamed for.
And we are losing.
We fought Iraq, after several missteps and stops and starts, in the American way - to win it.
And we are winning it.
Soon we will take the American plan to Afghanistan and we will win there.
Iraq didn't cause us to "take our eye off the ball". That's a ridiculous notion. Anyone who thinks that doesn't understand how America's military thinks. We have had men fighting and dying in Afghanistan for seven years anyone who thinks that the commanders there or at CENTCOM or in the Pentagon "took their eye off of the ball" is being stupid or insulting.
When Obama tells you the we have been ignoring Afghanistan, he is merely obfuscating....again. He needs to distract people from the fact that Afghanistan has been prosecuted exactly as the Democrats wanted and it has been a failure. If he convinces you that Iraq drained resources from Afghanistan, the he once again escapes from being held accountable for his miserable grasp on the military, GWOT and strategy.
No military member I know wants to fight the NATO/Euro-weenie way. Sure the joint exercises are fun. Sure we're happy to train their forces. But when the rubber meets the road, our military has little use for them with the exception of the English, the Aussies, the Canadians and the Dutch.
The Germans have been sitting in the FOBS, taking up space. Although, as I said earlier, the German SECDEF's remarks hold out hope for a better future.
We have more than carried our weight in Afghanistan within the NATO parameters and it has been a lose-lose for us. We get to do the dirty work, front the money, weapons and logistics and what do we get in return?????? We get to take orders from NATO commanders who in many cases DON'T GET IT. We get to watch the Germans sunbathing in the FOBs. It's disheartening.
Then to top it off, our military gets to listen to the press and the politicians beef that we are blowing it and we took our eye off of Osama bin Laden and we *let* the Taliban become resurgent.
Can you imagine committing your *life* to a cause and having some REMF beef that you didn't try hard enough?????????