by system failure
After
the recent NATO 'invasion' in Poland, we saw the first German military presence
(always in the context of NATO) in a former Baltic Soviet republic
since WWII: “German
tanks and troops began arriving in Lithuania on Tuesday, the first
entry of the German military into the former Baltic Soviet republic
since its occupation by the Nazis during the Second World War. The
German deployment is to include 450 troops and some 200 vehicles,
including 30 tanks. In all, the NATO alliance has committed to moving
four battalions, roughly 3,000 to 4,000 troops, to within striking
distance of Russia in northeastern Europe as part of a permanent
“rotating” deployment.”
Recall
that, recently
“German
Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned European Union leaders they
cannot rely on the "eternal guarantee" of US support, as
concerns continue to grow about incoming President Donald Trump's
commitment to trans-Atlantic ties. Speaking to the press in Brussels
as she received an honorary joint doctorate from Ghent and Louvain
universities, Merkel said "traditional partners" could no
longer be relied upon to "closely cooperate" with Europe on
issues such as defense.”
The
decline of the US-German relations has been exposed initially with
the NSA
interceptions scandal,
yet, progressively, the big picture came on surface, revealing a
transatlantic
economic war
between banking and corporate giants.
Merkel's statements could be
considered an official declaration of Germany's deeper desire to
become an autonomous power that will dominate in the European
continent. It is obvious that Germany (i.e., German capital), will
seek to take advantage both from Brexit and the Trump presidency.
Brexit will give the chance to
Germany to increase influence due to the change of power balance,
especially now that France appears weak - crawling behind Berlin's
austerity, sado-monetarism and neoliberal destruction. These
conditions (created in the Greek experiment), are necessary to
Germany in order to retain a model in favor of its surpluses. These
could become the solid ground upon which Germany could build a
strong, modern military machine.
Therefore,
Merkel knows that the economic domination is not adequate for a country
to become a major power. It is also important to have a strong
military presence in its “sphere of influence”, or, its
financial/debt colonies, if you prefer. The German military presence
in Lithuania is a first step towards this direction as the Baltic
countries have already become German "satellites" in the
economic field.
That's why Merkel would not be
probably very unhappy with Trump's statements about calling NATO an
'obsolete' alliance. Germany can use NATO as a pretext to put troops
in eastern Europe, but they can stay permanently under a new European
military alliance in the future.
Therefore, while Trump will be
occupied with his efforts to 'lure' Russia in order to break its
alliance with China, Germany may find the chance to build a third
major pole between a possible refreshed Anglo-American axis and the
Sino-Russian bloc, replacing the US hegemony in Europe.
However, many things could go
wrong.
First of all, under today's
multi-polar and quite complex/unstable global geopolitical
environment, where even the biggest powers seek alliances to prevail,
it is certain that Germany does not have the specific weight to build
its own 'empire' alone. The absolute commitment of its European
partners is vital.
Yet,
it seems that Germany tries to do it the wrong way. This time, it is
not using cruel military enforcement like in WWII, but brutal
economic war. Germany
used its economic power and control of the European Central Bank to
impose unprecedented austerity, sado-monetarism and neoliberal
destruction through silent financial coups in Ireland,
Italy
and Cyprus.
This way of imposition, provokes
extremely negative responses throughout eurozone. Add to that the
unprecedented refugee crisis and the unknown factor called Deutsche
Bank that may blow up eurozone even earlier than the dead-end
situation in Greece, and you have a perfect mixture of catastrophe
that could put an early end to Germany's dreams, one more time.
Currently,
the French political establishment follows Germany to the letter.
That's because both the German and the French political establishment
serve the big European capital through the neoliberal doctrine. It
had become quite obvious especially when they sacrificed Greece to
save the German and the French banks.
However,
things are changing rapidly in Europe. It seems that the political
parties, i.e. the Social Democrats and the Popular RIght, that
dominated the European political scene for, at least the last forty
years, are collapsing. Therefore, things
can go wrong for Germany also with the potential rise of Marine Le
Pen in power. Recall that, recently, Le
Pen stated
that she will take France out not only from NATO, but also from the
EU.
Furthermore, under such
circumstances, Germany would be also committed by some serious
obligations. Under an extreme scenario, a possible military European
alliance under the German hegemony, would be obliged to defend its
colony Greece, for example, if Turkey would provoke a warm conflict.
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