Now for something new: the first non-David posting! Ray wrote this excellent piece on the German government's anti-Iraq position at the Madrid Donor Conference.
German Development Minister Heidi Wieczorek-Zeul (SPD) worried ceaselessly before the Iraq war about what she predicted would be "hundreds of thousands of innocent women and children" war victims and as many as "two to three million refugees." This same Heide Wieczorek-Zeul has now taken the position that it would be wrong for Germany to forgive Iraq its $4.6 billion debt. The same debt in question was actually run-up by Saddam Hussein's regime in his extensive dealings with the German government, some of which, we all know, were rather shady.
Wieczorek-Zeul, whose socially-concerned constituents were out in the streets screaming "no blood for oil" before the war, justified her decision not to forgive Iraq's debt (despite the country's grave financial situation after decades of rule by Saddam) by pointing out that "such an oil-rich country ought to have no trouble paying" what it owes. I guess she is forgetting that Iraq owes other countries an estimated combined total of $120 to $160 billion dollars in debt. Apparently the stifling effects that this debt will have on Iraq's women and children is of no great concern to Ms. Wieczorek-Zeul or her colleagues in the German government.
To underline her continuing disapproval of the war in Iraq, Wieczorek-Zeul is avoiding the Madrid donor conference and is instead sending a lower-ranking official in her place. Germany has decided that the whopping Euro 193 million already committed by the EU (Japan is committing $1.5 billion, well over six times as much) is all that can be afforded to offer Iraq at the moment and cited its own economic woes.
But don't be fooled, this is not just a symptom of the dramatic economic failure of Germany's SPD-Green government. It is also a clear sign of their continued pursuit of a cynical policy of opposing the United States to score political points at home with voters whose aversion towards America has been strongly reinforced by the relentless America-bashing in the German media over the past year. In fact, anti-Americanism is about the only thing Ms. Wieczorek-Zeul's government has going for it politically and it doesn't want to see this issue die lest her party's already weak grip on political power die along with it.
The irony of it all is that Germany is the very country whose economic recovery after WWII owed much to the generosity of donor countries, (remember the Marshall plan Ms. Wieczorek-Zeul?) Germany has attained its current position and prosperity in the world (which the current SPD-Green government is squandering mightily) because foreign countries were willing to put aside past enmities and extend a helping hand financially, militarily and politically to get the country back on its feet and to eventually bring about its reunification. And now this same Germany is too petty, heartless and short-sighted to help the Iraqi people in their hour of greatest need?
Shame on Germany and shame on Ms. Wieczorek-Zeul!
Ray,
great post!
HZB
Posted by: hans ze beeman | October 23, 2003 at 03:24 PM
There's a great line in Spinal Tap: "Money talks, bullshit walks." This kind of political posturing is so transparent that it will be easy to see through. If Ms. W-Z's constituents can't see through it, there are some very significant forces that will. One of them is George Bush. He's not as dumb as Ms. W-Z thinks. He can do the math. He knows the difference between $193 million, and the $87 BILLION that the U.S. is giving, not loaning, for reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
The other significant force is the blogosphere. As long as bloggers continue to expose these politicians for the windbags that they are, there will be a revolution. Hey, it worked in California, and soon it may work in Iran, which would really be amazing.
Great, great post, Ray!
Posted by: Erik Eisel | October 23, 2003 at 04:07 PM
Ray,
I feel that you have hit the nail on the head with this post. No one could have said it any better. I salute you! I agree with Erik Eisel, we need to keep the pressure on all of our politicians. If we have to expose them as windbags, then so be it.
Now is the time for all to stand together, for if we don't, the rest of the world is watching and there are those who will see this chink in our armor and take advantage of it. We have only this "one world".
Blog on, blog strong, we can make a difference!
N. Hale
Posted by: N. Hale 2003 | October 23, 2003 at 05:03 PM
Excellent post. Welcome to my blogroll, David and Ray.
Riyadh delenda est!
Posted by: Cato the Youngest | October 25, 2003 at 06:35 AM
The anti-americanism here in Europe is getting really scary. Check out Lars von Trier's newest film "Dogville". The way he portrays the poverty in Depression-Era America during the film credits (to the tune of David Bowie's "Young American)" is sickening. Given the bloody massacre at the end of the film, you can actually get the impression that he's calling for mass killings of Americans. He certainly makes clear that his film is not about the human condition but about his own hatred for America. Thanks Gerhard Schröder and Jacques Chirac for making this all possible. We'll never forget that one of the few times we needed help, our two so-called friends basically told us to f**k off and then began banging the drums of anti-americanism ... and this since 2002, one year after 9-11. That's what I call leadership.
(PS, I don't even like Bush, but this is getting out of hand.)
Posted by: Karl B. | October 25, 2003 at 03:36 PM
That's interesting about Cannes. Apparently even the jury was offended by von Trier and did not give him a prize.
Schröder is selling all this as "emancipation": i.e. "Germany has been oppressed by the Americans for so long that it is time to stand up and burn one's BH (German for bra) and show them a thing or two." Problem is, the Americans downscaled their presence here long ago; they really don't have a lot to say. Just another red herring from the "redsocks". As Marc Fisher wrote in Slate in 2002: "... speaking of leaders who turned to foreign adventures to distract attention from domestic failures, Schröder looked up this summer to find his country in a financial mess ..."
Posted by: Karl B. | October 26, 2003 at 02:05 PM
A side note: Lars von Trier has never even been to America.
Posted by: kid charlemagne | October 26, 2003 at 04:34 PM