Was the Berlin Airlift a PR Campaign?

(By Ray D.)

SPIEGEL ONLINE: US Tsunami Aid is a Publicity Campaign

Yesterday, it appeared that SPIEGEL ONLINE was prepared to report about US relief efforts in regions affected by the tsunami in a positive way. Guess again: The old cynicism is back.

After all, the US couldn't just be helping people because it is a good country. There must be some catch...

Of course: It is all a big "PR campaign" designed to win over Asian Muslims! SPON writes:

"For the Americans the action is not just help for the desperate Indonesians, instead also an important PR campaign. They can indeed prove, that they don't just conduct wars against Muslims, but instead stand at their side in an hour of need."

That's it: The US is just trying to shore up its image. This is all about showing that the hegemon can drop something other than bombs on innocent Muslim children. We simply need to forget for a moment about the US-led Kosovo and Bosnia campaigns that saved thousands and thousands of Muslim lives. Let's also forget that the US sends far more aid to poor Muslim countries every year than any other country. Please try not to remember that the US is home to millions of Muslims who work and worship in peace and freedom.

And the world is in order again for SPIEGEL ONLINE...

SPIEGEL ONLINE Would Have Called the Berlin Airlift a PR Campaign

So does this mean that the Berlin airlift of 1948-9 was a PR campaign conducted by the US for pure political gain? Was the US simply engaged in a massive PR effort to shore up its image with Germans and prove that it could do something more than drop bombs on German children?

One thing is clear: Had SPIEGEL ONLINE been around in 1948, it certainly would have thought so. After all, the US can do no right without some sort of sinister alterior motive at play.

Little Criticism for the EU and UN

And while US helicopters are bringing lifesaving aid to tsunami victims, the EU and the UN are still in the process of "assessing" things. But SPIEGEL ONLINE and other German media have not felt the urgent desire to criticize the slowness of the two institutions. Only George W. Bush has come in for that sort of criticism despite the fact that the US has moved to rescue tsunami victims faster than any other nation or institution on the planet.

Just another day at the office for "fair and balanced" German journalism...

Comments

[Pato]

One has to ask once again, why there is nothing else for the german media to focus their sissy scorn on? New economic numbers come out showing the german economy to be a disgrace among western/modern countries-
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/01/04/yourmoney/mark.html
The US adds more new jobs in the last month than germany has in ten years. Why would this not be an issue for the german media to focus on more?
And to see how the "un" is viewed over in afghanistan, and the insane levels of waste invoved take a moment to read this-
http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/006109.php

[Devils Advocate]

you forgot the best twist my friend:

the headline of the article "Letzte Rettung durch die Seahawks" ("Saved by the Seahawks") had a different title this morning and was changed early afternoon as it probably was too rich even for Blumencron's blood. This morning it read something like "The laid-back flyers of Aceh" - sorry I forgot to make a screenshot. Others have.

The gist was that the "Cowboys" of the US Marines are having a damn' good laid-back time over there.

Anti-Americanism is like Anti-Semitism and any other Anit-Ism. Great for wankers to have.

But to hone you Anti-Ism on the back of a catastrophe shows that SPONs content producers (I deliberately refrain form using the word "journalists") have to work their way up to scum.

[Pogue]

Just as clearly - had Bush rushed to Air Force One and sped back to Washington the moment he heard that a Tsunami had killed 10,000 ( initial reports ) in Indonesia - the Euro and leftist US media would have run wild with stories about how he was "capitalizing on suffering to improve the US image in the world"

Since he didn't do that - Plan B was put into effect - and the spin became how insensitive he was for NOT rushing back to Washington to mug in front of the camera's and bite his lower lip for dramatic effect

[Pato]

Why would the german media NOT focus on it's own efforts rather than that of the US?
The US has 15,000 in theater and off the coast delivering supplies. I'd like to see this little spon (Al Speigel) coward meet up with a few US Marines and convey his intellectual starved observations to the Marines directly.
The damn deutsch media cowards have a frickin' collective brain capacity of a wet shoe. They make the captive interns who used to work at Pravda look like geniouses when compared to the german media.
show this link to the little bitch who wrote the article, and translate for him the fact that these 1,900 photos do not show marines sitting on their azses.
What is it about the german masses that make them eat this kind of crap up so hungrily? What will it take for them to realise just how damn foolish they look to the world?

[Pato]

...follow the desperate "un" as it makes it's way to far parts of the globe, crawling on it's knees trying to ride the sails of the US/Aussie/Thai action plans. This blog has a day by day/blow by blow account of "un" paralysis and attempts to come in under the US taxpayer and US military's efforts
http://diplomadic.blogspot.com/

[Pato]

from the diplomad- (where are the little puszies from Speigel to comment on this?)
"Ok, enough with the UN; you get the picture. Now to the EU. The EU could copy the Australian-American model of acting quickly and effectively to save lives, or they could copy the UN model of meeting at a leisurely pace to plan for the possibility of setting up a coordination center that will consider making a plan for the possibility of an operations center to consider beginning to request support for the tsunami's victims. Ah, my wise friends, guess which model of "action" the EU chose? No need to emulate those "cowboys" from Australia and the USA with their airplanes and loading crews working round-the-clock; oh, no, much too tacky, sweaty and dirty. No need to feed into the system those goofy Aussiyankeebushowardian New World Anglo-Saxons already have created. No, they'll follow the much more elegant Kofi Annan model. A couple of EU planners have shown up to begin making arrangements for an assessment team to arrive, etc., etc., you know the rest. Meanwhile, people die."
This is the crux of what ails the "eu", and fully indicative of the actions that have brought the "eu" to it's knees.

[Pato]

...it should be noted (from the diplomad again) that the great Dutch nation has accomplishments to date and Dutch personell make note of US efforts here- (again, SPON is now reduced to a children's nursery ryhme site for the developmentally disabled)
"The US military has arrived and is clearly establishing its presence everywhere in Banda Aceh. They completely have taken over the military hospital, which was a mess until yesterday but is now completely up and running. They brought big stocks of medicines, materials for the operation room, teams of doctors, water and food. Most of the patients who were lying in the hospital untreated for a week have undergone medical treatment by the US teams by this afternoon. US military have unloaded lots of heavy vehicles and organize the logistics with Indonesian military near the airport. A big camp is being set up at a major square in the town. Huge generators are ready to provide electricity. US helicopters fly to places which haven't been reached for the whole week and drop food. The impression it makes on the people is also highly positive; finally something happens in the city of Banda Aceh and finally it seems some people are in control and are doing something. No talking but action. European countries are until now invisible on the ground. IOM staff (note: this is a USAID-funded organization) is very busy briefing the incoming Americans and Australians about the situation."

[Pato]

sorry, here is the link (again) for the 19,250 photos showing efforts in Aceh by US and the coalition. The only "un" personal to be seen were begging the US and Aussies to put on blue UN gear.
If they did that, they would then be sent by the "un" to participate in some gay pride event put on by Zapatero and his coffee boys.
more pics have been added since yesterday.
http://www.navy.mil/view_photos.asp?page=1&sort_type=0&sort_row=1

[Jens-Olaf]

Hm, since the German Marine (navy) is moving to the same place as it`s mentioned in the article I can´t make the different.
German PR versus American PR ?

[Pato]

..."moving to the same place"
In anyone's language- is not the same as "already being there" and with hard work already being done and in progress".
Remember this was an emergency, not a time for debates or to scuttle around looking for one's tarpaulins.
Does the german army or navy's employee union permit expediting help quickly in times of a disaster?

[Jens-Olaf]

I`ve spent 2 hours watching TV( I have no access to TV at home)this afternoon to get an impression how the German TV channels are covering the situation, especially in Sumatra. The first time I`ve seen video and reporting about the Tsunami catastrophe. Pato,that`s right: First aid, others couldn`t provide, is done by the US navy there. Then I ´ve read the SPON article. And they mentioned about Bundeswehr Marine going there too. That is my estimation from the German side. But if Medienkritik states that the PR thing is that one you have to pay attention, o.k., maybe I am just too naive.

[Jens-Olaf]

Some say pictures are stronger than words. In that momment you can see a Seahawk holding a child in his arms (in a helicopter ?) On SPIEGEL ONLINE.

[Pato]

@jens
I was just inquiring as to why the germans were NOT already there. The disaster was 10 days ago.
For the germans to be just "on the way" (and not already there) at this time, is not impressive at all to anyone.
Dave and Ray were just wondering why the SPON kids write what they do about current US relief being given to indonesia. ... and why the german media seems to have amnesia and serious bouts of mental illness, coupled with severe impotence by forgetting (for convenience sake), what the US did to aid germany.
Dave and Ray were asking if SPON thought "the berlin airlift was a PR gesture from the US also?"
The german govt and media see no parralells to this humanitarian aid and that which was needed in berlin not so long ago.
It's called "selective memory"... to remember from history what is only convenient to your message.
How goddamn juvenile this approach is.
The sad thing is that it is eaten up by the german masses like swine going at a feed bucket.

[Pato]

jens-
good to see SPOn has opened it's eyes.
Those Seahawk helicopters began arriving and off-loading 3 days ago.
Do they at SPON have any pics of germans helping or practicing any "soft-diplomacy" in the area?
and if not, why not?
Why would SPON do an article yelling szhit at the US, when no germans (one's not wearing speedos anyway) were nowhere near the area?
How does one explain that?

[Devils Advocate]

surprised ?

german media caters to their customers: the "Linksspiesser"

(for our english-speking bretheren: this loosely tranlates as leftist-redneck. yes, there is no monopoly on bigotry.)

the Linksspiesser wishes to be entertained and his entertainment is to froth at the mouth at the atrocities committed by president bush, the us, christian extremists and others.

the Linksspiesser usually is Antiamerican, Antisemitist and bigoted to the extreme. but: he buys the dailies and the weeklies and so pays the journalists' salaries. as the parasite comes to resemble his host, so have the journalists become - bigoted wankers.

sad isn't it ? alwys follow the money, and you will find the ultimate truth.

@pato
your writing let look you very foolish! geh zurueck in then kaefig!

[Pato]

Thanks Advocate de Diablo-
Does this "Linksspiesser" explain the horrendous economy, the crusty educational system, and the overall entightlement mentality within germany?
How does this fit in to the current picture of horrors that is modern day life in germany?

[Alex N.]

Damnit. I was about to post something along the lines, that albeit heavy criticism on this site is made on the German media and the general German anti-american consensus, and many people posting here "seemingly" have given up on the Germans already, one must not forget that there are also several Germans posting on this site who HATE THE GERMAN POLITICS AND MEDIA JUST LIKE A REDNECK DOES. But now, I see this latest article about another Spiegel approach on the topic, and I myself feel like puking. It is so hard to make any positive point about the German-American relationship - maybe it's so hard because there just isn't any positive thing left. Seeing how things go over here, I myself cannot blame any American who would say "Fuck it, to hell with you German mess. That's it." And I'm afraid and almost sure that this point in time WILL COME if my people continue the way they do. You know, back at work, when the Tsunami deseaster was just recent, I told my colleagues: "Wait just some time, I guarantee you that in some way, some blame will be laid uppon the US." Damn, it happened faster and in a scale I would not have imagined. This is a dramatic developement. And albeit this website here for example, or Henryk M. Broder, voice their opinion and confront the mainstream, I'm afraid it will be to no effect.

The stream is just so heavy, single websites or one or two comments in a newspaper won't change ONE tiny bit. They get washed away by the wall of dirt and debris coming down-river, right into the waterfall. If hating America is what my country wants, they'll gonna get it. They get it. "A few good men" can't do shit to hinder that. This is how history goes. Either the mass realizes, or it don't. The difficult thing here in this country is that the mass doesn't even WANT to realize. They feel comfort in blaming the US. Because they are so miserable. There is no healthy patriotism in Germany (it seems Nazism has occupied this stand), there are no visions. The self-induced outlook into the future of the German people is miserable. This is why there can be no hero or website with heroic efforts to change this. It's very simple: Heroes are made by the people. If heroes act not in the will of the people, they will be called traitors and ass-lickers. Quickly.

And another thing is this: Those who could really tell about the Americans and how they conduct themselves, and how they are NOT a hegemonial world power, are those people who are dying out. I talk about those people who were young adults when they witnessed the difference between American and Soviet Occupation in post-war Germany, or the Berlin Airlift, or adults when the Cuban missile crises was on for example. And I also talk about my father, albeit he was an "SPD'ler" (leftist), who did however NOT agree with the approach Schröder took towards the US concerning the recent Iraq conflict. He was a 16-year old guy who ended up in US confinement after being drafted from school in the "last-ditch-effort" by the Wehrmacht to hold back the US tanks intruding the Rhineland. Two days after he got captured, the US officer told him "Go home. The war is over for you." And so he did.

You know, these kind of stories are plenty among the old folks. There is some bar nearby my basement, and among others, an old lady is serving the drinks. I had some good talks with her. And even though she is as Bavarian and German as you can be, she agreed with me that what is said about the US these days is far from fair and balanced. And she also told me a story. It was just after WWII ended when a US tank drove by their house, and the soldiers were to inspect it. She was 14 or so at this point. When the US Army Officer in command went upstairs, he saw her Grandma laying in bed. She suffered from cancer and was slowly dying from within. She couldn't even move her head anymore. And albeit everyone knew she is doomed to die in a not so far future - from this day, that US Army Officer would drive about 40 miles EVERY DAY from his base to their house in order to provide that grandma an injection in an effort to lower her pain. The old lady said she has and will never forget that.

And it is today, THIS day, that AGAIN, the US military is conducting itself in the highest traditions topped by no other military in history yet, when they take losses in Iraq which could be avoided would they act in a brutal and no-remorse way the Wehrmacht did in occupied territory. Or like the Russians did in Chechnia. But they do not. Yet, when a single US soldier shoots an Insurgent in less-than-clear circumstances for any outsider, it is the "Americans" who are "War Criminals". This is beyond any reasoning - this kind of thinking is proof that the media in this country clearly has got an Anti-American agenda. Anyone, such as "Transatlantiker", who denies this is either on that Anti-American ship or just not willing to face the ugly truth (which I think "Transatlantiker" is the latter of). But anyway, it doesn't matter: What counts is what I said further above: If the German people want to hate the US, they will. Nothing can stop it. As nothing could stop the Nazis back in the 30s, because the German people did want them. It's hard, but it's the truth nonetheless. I've already more or less given up on it, because I realized I can't do shit about it. I'm not in any position to change anything. Sure, I will cast my vote accordingly, and I will face anyone who bad-mouths the US on my watch. In my housing, and in my job, I fly the US next to the German flag. It sums up my political point of view, and anyone coming up with questions regarding that, will hear my answers. But other than that, I'm of no effect against the will of the majority.

Pato, you are very often very vocal in your statements about Germany and/or the EU. And I think you are rightous in that, because you see it as it is and make no useless polite approach on the matters. And I think you are far from the Redneck some of the people here like to think of you, because, if that would be true, you wouldn't even care to post on this site I think.

But, Pato, you know what? Albeit I dismiss and hate the German policy, the German mind, the German reasoning just as much as you do - there is still one thing that differs each of us: Albeit I don't even have the opportunity to emigrate to the US, I'm not at all sure if I did when I could. It's crazy, but in the end I'm a German, and I feel like I gotta stay with my folks even when we go to hell. Maybe it's about where you grew up, or in which military you served, or maybe it's about where you had your first kiss - but in the end I'm German. And even if I would emigrate to the US, I see myself already defending the Germans if I would be in the US. In an effort to close ranks between folks which belong together in my mind. You know, I'm pro-American not because I love America. I'm pro-American because I am a German who thinks Germany is committing a great mistake with its current policy and Anti-American view, and because I believe in the American mind and point of view, and I want my German people to SHARE this attitude.
So I believe there is no place I could go to find "inner peace" regarding policy until Germany and the US find back to each other at least as it once was.

Regards and with respect,

Alex N.

[Alex N.]

@ the poster before Pato's last comment:

"@pato
your writing let look you very foolish! geh zurueck in then kaefig!"

The three monkeys are living in your house, right? Go ahead with it. But be aware, as many monkies you got, the truth will hit you in the arse nonetheless. No matter whether you like to hear it now or not.

Gute Nacht,

Alex N.

[Ray D.]

@ Alex N.

Wow, thank you for that incredible comment. That is the best comment I have read in a long time.

---Ray D.

[Ray D.]

@ Jens,

You don't think it is cynical in the least that SPON is labeling US efforts a "PR campaign"?

---Ray D.

Ray D
Yes that is pure cynism, but on the same way this blame is also directed to the German efforts of the Bundeswehr.

[Pato]

@alex
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. It doesn't take a redneck to truly hate german politik or modern german media.
I post on this blog because I do care, and yes because I am quite angry about all of this crap from germany so soon after the US spent billions pacifying and then re-building germany.
I have perhaps 500 posts that I have made on this blog. With no posts that hide any words or realities as you note. (as that would only delay any resolutions) And the posts of mine are indeed "shouted" in plain english.
Your post by itself, and with the sentiments you feel as a proud german, have made all the time I've spent on this blog worthwhile.
For one to know that a person with your perspective is alive and well in germany- it comforts me greatly.
It seems the best thing you could do is to make a name for yourself and get out on the streets along side David, Ray and Angela M and others and make your voices heard as you have done here. I'll be at the CeBet show in Hanover in february for a week or so and would happily march along any german who shares your intellect.
If ever possible, I'd buy you and your friends beers for life.

[Alex N.]

"@ Alex N.

Wow, thank you for that incredible comment. That is the best comment I have read in a long time.

---Ray D."

It's me who owes you a lot of thank for the show you guys are running here. You guys are the "few good men". I imagine it must cost you a lot of energy AND money to do this, and the outlook is pretty blank nonetheless. Still you do it.
In this regard, do you think there is ANY chance that guys like you, if you group-up together, could get attention from some "right-wing" publisher to come up with a conservative, mass-media compatible voice to turn up in Germany? Like has been suggested sometimes already by others in this blog? I guess you would need some money for that, and in the end it's about the market. I guess any "right-winger" won't see a healthy market for his product in Germany, taking all the leftist and well-doing media into consideration. But this really would be what this country needs. Anything else, including this website, will be of no effect I'm afraid. Face it, some single websites, even if run by a German, won't have any noticable impact when facing the mass-media. Don't misunderstand me - I don't see your website as an effort in vain. At least from what I can tell, it is a blessing for guys like me who get sick of reading and listening to all the other shit every time I look up magazine coverages or turn on the TV. But, in order to reach the mass, something else is needed. You are more involved in the media than I am: Do you believe there is any chance something like "Fox News" might turn up in Germany, or how this could be achieved? You know, the problem is that even our politicians, who might think along these - our lines - such as Köhler, Schäuble, Westerwelle or Beckstein, have to be very carefull with what they say. Especially with Schäuble, during the talkshows, you could notice and recognize what his real attitude was, and what approach he however had to take not to be thrown out of the studio, so to say. He also has that constant grinning when trying to get over his points. I think this is an indication about what's going on in his head when facing the stupid questions of Sabine Christiansen and the like ;).

Regards
Alex N.

[Pato]

@ pegasus-
"I don't think it's right to belittle the help of EU countries"
The point of this current blog post and the comments were in regard to SPON's "belittling" of the US efforts, and why the german media takes this approach. When SPON "opens it's mouth" it is very difficult to NOT want to knock it's journalistic head right off. It is those childish slime-balls in the german media who have casted the first stone of "belittlement".
Regarding "looking positive" in the eyes of the worlds muslims and getting good PR- well, here in the US we thought that was accomplished already once the slaughter of muslims in europe was stopped by the US twice in just the last decade, and muslims were fed in somalia by the US, and the taliban were send feeling in thier dusty robes from afghani soil by the US, and when saddam was chased like a little bitch from Kuwait, and when Iraqis were given their country back so they can actually vote for a leader or two this time. There were some who thought this would prove some type of humanity exisits in the US.
And the "eu" approaches of the last decades in the middle east have simply involved writing checks to coddle Arafat, and now we see all the investigations in the "eu" as to where all the money went......
Lets never forget the elderly german tourists slain in luxor nor the germans killed in the synogogue propane track blast in tunisia. The checks sent to arafat weren't helpful PR as far as preventing the attacks either...

[SleepingInSeattle]

"For the Americans the action is not just help for the desperate Indonesians, instead also an important PR campaign."

At first it made me angy reading that, but then I thought that it seems exactly like something I'd hear from ITN, BBC or such anyway. It's the typical European style of reporting. Always look for the provocative side, when your mentality is that people are for the most part bad, then what can you do.

[beimami]

The Germam media has not lost its expertise in the practice of propaganda; the SPON approach here is much more subtle than many may realize. Note how they use the PR angle to take a stab the US and feed their hungry Leftist subscribers, but refrain from insulting one of their favorite whipping boys - the US military. Doing so might not only seem small-minded under the circumstances, but could also have consequences as indicated later in the article:

"Auf dem Flughafen drängen sich internationale Journalisten, um einen Platz auf einem der Hubschrauber zu ergattern."

The only way to get to the really hot stories is to hitch a ride with the US military. If the German media starts dissing them, they can say goodbye to access. I guess you could call it "unintentional embedding." That also explains the photos Jens-Olaf mentioned. What else can they report when they are underway with the US military?

@Alex

A truly good and heartfelt post, but you are fighting a losing battle. My German mother-in-law, who doesn't know the difference between the SPD and CDU, thinks "Bush is like Hitler." Any discussion to the contrary goes in one ear and out the other. I am often obligated to socialize with German academics. Rarely does an hour go by without someone feeling compelled to speak evil of the US. (It reminds sometimes me of some born-again American Christians who refuse to discuss anything other than their faith.) Any defense of America results in a bunch of disgusted grunts and a change of subject. Yes, it has gotten to the point where they won't tolerate contrary views; either everyone sits around and agrees that Bush and American are evil, or they wait until the "spoiler" leaves.

During the last local elections in the area where I live, I recieved information pamphlets from many of the German political parties. There was little that the Greens, SPD and extreme right parties agreed on, except for their anti-Americanism. I could go on and on, but I suspect you have had similar experiences. Mass hysteria is like a tidal wave; it doesn't stop until it hits something solid.

[Aarrgghh]

Pegasus does have a point: The countries helping most visibly right now had assets closest to the area. Ships can move only so fast. There are also others who've moved assets in by air (excluding Canada, who gutted their strategic air transport capability... we can hope they'll reconsider that decision after losing out completely on this month's soft-power PR bonanza), but you can only do so much that way. It might be appropriate to wait off on condemning the EU's materiel/boots-on-the-ground response until it's physically possible for there to be one. All they can do immediately is send money, and they seem to be doing that quite well. Or at least pledging it.

It just seems sometimes like this blog is as reflexively anti-German/anti-European as Spiegel is anti-American, and that's depressing, even to a right-wing American like me. God knows there's enough to criticize without having to go overboard about it.

How do you say "sorryeverybody.com" in German? I'm not sure I want to know.

[Alex N.]

Beimani wrote: "I could go on and on, but I suspect you have had similar experiences. Mass hysteria is like a tidal wave; it doesn't stop until it hits something solid."

Indeed. And I'm afraid it will hit very hard. You know, I have stopped thinking about the whole thing other than when I'm visiting this website. Because I feel nothing's gonna stop it. Nothing. It's just history being written right now. We really are at the point where you can at least somewhat understand how the people who were against the Nazis during the 30's felt. Granted, Germany is not Nazi-Germany again, but to bring over you contrary ideas to the masses is almost as difficult as it was back then. What's still missing is the GESTAPO visiting you. But other than that, the game is very similar. Once you face mass-hysteria, it's too late already. Because then you are at a point where people WANT to believe in what they believe. No matter what points you bring up. Damn, really it's a blank perspective.

Regards
Alex N.

[beimami]

@Ray D.

"So does this mean that the Berlin airlift of 1948-9 was a PR campaign conducted by the US for pure political gain?"

Warte mal ab. SPIEGEL knows no limits when it comes to revising history. Have you forgotten the SPIEGEL magazine and SPIEGEL TV reports from January, 2003 that discussed the "Luftterror gegen Deutschlands Städte"? That garbage contained lots of criticism of the US and Britain, but somehow managed to neglect any mention of concentration camps, bombing campaigns against Britain, the destruction of Stalingrad, the starving of Leningrad, the surprise attack on Poland, unrestricted submarine warfare, etc. Don't be surprised if SPON takes on the "Luftbrucke" one day.

http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,231318,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/sptv/reportage/0,1518,232683,00.html

[roman thomas]

@alex n.
i had those same sentiments about trying to get someone higher up the german media ladder. someone to get david and ray's point of view across to a broader mass. if you look at the american site 'littlegreenfootballs.com', you will see a highly reguarded conservative site. second to none. actually this is how i came across this site. maybe ray and david can hook up with charles johnson (LGF) and get out the word to a bigger audience.

[beimami]

@Alex N.

Wow! That reply was fast. I should add that I don't think things are quite as bad as they might have been in the 1930s and I don't think they will get that bad. The only time I get a little nervous is when I listen to, and see, discussions of Isreal. I look at the faces of the discussants and keep my mouth shut.

Other than that, so that other readers who don't live here don't get a completely distorted impression, aside from the angles discussed on this weblog, I get along very well here in Germany, and my relationship with the Germans I know and work with is generally very good (as long as I don't defend America too rigorously).

Likewise, best wishes. And your English is excellent, much better than that of most German academics I know.

[Pato]

pegasus-
I hear you fully.
Though it seems a more than a bit odd that the german media's critique of the US here began many, many, many days before the german assets would arrive in theater. Thats the guts of the insanity conveyed. There has been 1000s of german press who have been given rides in US helicoptors in years past. That alone should have governed their mouths.
I think that down the road the help that would be looked at as truly having saved many lives would be the help that arrived soon after the disaster.
Long term development is the greatest responsibility of the countries affected.
I don't think the west should be liable to assist in any job re-training programs for fisherman in this instance. Thier duty should be aid that can save lives and create an environment to bring the people back off their knees quickly in a dignified way.

[Jens-Olaf]

Most leftiest daily in Germany TAZ, today

Die Europäische Union verlangte vorab, die Vereinten Nationen sollten die Führung bei der Hilfskoordination übernehmen. Von UN-Seite wird bisher aber eher die Initiative der einzelnen Länder gelobt - nicht nur mit ihren Geldzusagen, sondern auch mit ihrer logistischen Hilfe. So hat das US-Militär in der indonesischen Provinz Aceh, der am schwersten von den Flutfolgen betroffenen Region mit bis zu 100.000 Todesopfern, eine Luftbrücke aufgebaut, um direkt vom US-Flugzeugträger "Abraham Lincoln" aus Hilfsgüter per Hubschrauber in die Krisengebiete zu bringen.

"Das ist absolut lebensrettend", lobte der UN-Hilfskoordinator für Indonesien, Michael Elmquist, die US-Militärs. "Die Amerikaner sind die Einzigen, die die Kapazität dazu haben." Aceh sei dermaßen verwüstet, dass Transporte auf dem Landweg oder mit normalen Flugzeugen unmöglich seien, sagte eine Sprecherin des Roten Halbmonds. Inzwischen stapelten sich unkoordiniert eingetroffene Hilfsgüter auf den Flughäfen der Region.

Auch Militärs aus Indonesien, Australien, Singapur und Malaysia sind an der US-Luftbrücke beteiligt. Bis zu 120 Bundeswehrsoldaten werden außerdem in Aceh erwartet; die ersten neun trafen gestern ein und sollen Feldlazarette einrichten. Heute soll das Greenpeace-Schiff "Rainbow Warrior" mit Hilfsgütern in Aceh eintreffen. "D.J.

This is simply a short report, positive, no anti-americanism. O.K. I`m leaving the subject, SPON. But the US-Airlift is emphasized, life-saving.

[Jens-Olaf]

@Beimani

A SPIEGEL special magazine (2003) on the air raids against Germany includes an article from Lew Besymenski about the air attacks of Luftwaffe in Stalingrad. Another article shows a map with German targets: Coventry, London, Rotterdam, Guernica, Warszawa, Belgrad, Stalingrad. It is all done to bring the full story in historical context.

[Jens-Olaf]

@ Ray D.

Sorry, it was DER SPIEGEL who complained that the air port Tempelhof in Berlin should be shut down. Because it is the symbol of the Berlin Airlift 1948. By the way, the first airport I arrived in my lifetime. Still I can imagine the big monument at the entrance . A Luftbrücke. It was 1969.

"Only George W. Bush has come in for that sort of criticism despite the fact that the US has moved to rescue tsunami victims faster than any other nation or institution on the planet."

Didn't the Aussies get there before the US? Not that it matters.

As for PR, while America won;t reject it, anybody who thinks that's the reason for disaster relief doen;t know America - or history very well.

[Jens-Olaf]

Last comment,

Ray D. I was wondering why especially this critics hearts: We, our faamily, had to take plane inside Germany cause my father was a deserter of the GDR army. No chance to pass to (West) Berlin via Autobahn. He always had to take an airplane, British airways, from Hanover to Berlin. A short distance of 200 or 300 kms.

[Jens-Olaf]

Last comment,

Ray D. I was wondering why especially this critics hurts: We, our family, had to take a plane inside Germany cause my father was a deserter of the GDR army. No chance to pass to (West) Berlin via Autobahn. He always had to take an airplane, British airways, from Hanover to Berlin. A short distance of 200 or 300 kms.

[Sandy P]

LGF is not a conservative site, per se.

Charles is a democrat who's party left him.

Look at his archives before 9/11 and after.

He's a musician, Californian, in the arts, and now happens to control thousands of lizardoid minions.

Oh, and helped bring down See - BS' news anchor, Dan Rather.

[Ray D.]

@ Arrgh:

This blog is reflexively anti-German/anti-European

Examples? You don't think it is cynical in the least to call the relief effort a big PR campaign?

[Ray D.]

BTW,

Colin Powell said "the United States is throwing its weight behind relief efforts because it is what Americans do."

Doesn't sound like a "PR campaign" to me. The whole "PR campaign" label is nothing but another cynical attempt to diminish what the US is doing over there. Like I said, calling this a "PR campaign" is like calling the Berlin Airlift a "PR campaign." If you can live with that comparison, be my guest.

---Ray D.

[Ray D.]

Here is the link to Powell's statement:

Pegasus, he said:

"The point I have been making all week long is that we are not doing this because we are seeking political advantage or just because we are trying to make ourselves look better with the Muslims. We are doing this because these are human beings in need, in desperate need and the United States has always been a generous, compassionate country and a generous, compassionate people and this is what we do."

Clearly, Powell rejects the "PR campaign" label.

---Ray D.

[Uncle Joe]

Ray, Ray, Ray!...How you you be so naive? Haven't you read the websites of the BBC and Le Monde?

The mad, mad butchers of Abu Graib and Guantanamo are being trotted out by their Likudnik neocon masters for a humanitarian PR show. It's nothing but a crafty bit of propaganda.

All the smarties say so.

[beimami]

@Jens-Olaf

Thank you for pointing that out. The special issue, which I did not read, likely contained a little more history. But the article I read in their regular weekly magazine did not contain this background information and the writing was, in my opinion, inflamatory.

The Germany media like SPIEGEL, N24 and ARTE that are deservedly criticized on this weblog, do occasionally run documentaries and print articles on German actions in WWII. These documentaries usually just stick to the facts, as documentaries should. They do not contain the inflamatory and sneering rhetoric that is included in reporting on the US.

A couple of examples in the interest of balance:

ARTE recently ran a "Hitlers Letzte Offensive: Schlacht in den Ardennen", which documented the murder and attepted murder of civilians (women and children) in Stavelot during the Battle of the Bulge. They also had interviews with survivors.

N24 ran a documentary called "Entscheidung am Atlantikwall" on the battles for Caen, Carrentan and St. Lo in the summer of 1942.

It is good to have an opposing voice in the comments section here; the German media is certainly not all anti-American all the time. Nevertheless, the authors of this blog are not just cherry picking items from the media here to make the Germans look bad. In fact, to get a true feel for the extent of the anti-Americanism in the media here, one must really live here, speak German, and regularly see and read the German media. How could a weblog ever capture the German reporters live from Washington with their sneering tone and generally negative depiction of America?

[C. Lapide]

An interesting contrast to the articles about the American help is the Spiegel's praise of the German chancellor and the great way he manages the crisis.
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,335614,00.html

[Germerican]

Excerpt from the NTV Television talk show "2+4" Jan 4, 2005
Theme: Tsunami Disaster Aid

After introducing the guests, the first question:

Moderator:
"Nach dem Schock über das Ausmaß der Flutkatastrophe in Süd-Asien beschäftigt die Welt vor allem eine Frage: Wie kann den Opfern schnell, wirksam, und dauerhaft geholfen werden? Herr Mueller, eine der hauptbetroffenen Region, allerdings nicht so im Fokus, weil nicht touristisch, ist Aceh in Nord-Sumatra. Dort sind die Amerikaner bereits seit Tagen mit Ihren Marineeinheiten im Einsatz. Das seit Tagen geplante Bundeswehrlazarett ist immer noch nicht auf dem Weg gebracht dorthin. Warum dauert das bei uns so lange?"

Michael Mueller (stellvertretender Fraktionschef der SPD in Deutschen Bundestag):
"Also, ich will zu Ihre Positiven Anmerkungen zu den USA keinen Kommentar abgeben, weil da geht mir ehrlich gesagt ein bisschen das Messer in der Tasche auf, dass man, so zu sagen, nur in die Ölregion geht, nicht? Ich mein wir wollen es ja auf dem Punkt bringen, und das find ich schon, ehrlich gesagt, ein krummes Ding, an der UNO vorbei, und so mal wieder die eigenen Interessen zu machen. Ich will das nur sagen weil das klang mir ein bisschen zu positiv, wenn ich das sagen darf. Aber ich bedauere auch, und wir bedauern das alle, das trotz der massiven Anstrengungen, und ich weiss hier was der Krisenstab leistet, es doch in der internationalen Koordinierung schwieriger als wir gedacht haben.....…"

My comments: The moderator says that the foremost concern of the world is how to help the victims of the catastrophe, but the foremost concern, or at least the first thing the acting leader of the ruling party in the German Parliament has to say, is to accuse the United States of going only to the oil region and side-stepping the UN to pursue its own interests.

All of us who are correctly informed know that it was the Aceh region that was hit hardest by the tsunami and in addition to that by an earthquake, and it was in the most desperate need of helicopters and landing vessels. We also know that US aid was also reaching other regions, not just the region that happened to have oil. Does Herr Mueller think that US forces should not have gone to Aceh, thus leaving thousands of homeless and injured people completely cut off from aid, without food or potable water in destroyed coastal villages and cities? I don’t think so.

All of us who are correctly informed also know that the UN was not immediately capable of coordinating such an enormous relief effort. Does Herr Mueller think that the US should have sat around doing nothing while waiting for the UN to figure out how to coordinate everything? I don’t think so.

Then why is he using a public debate about tsunami disaster aid to make unfounded accusations against the US?
The answer to this question is given by Herr Mueller himself:
"Ich will das nur sagen weil das klang mir ein bisschen zu positiv, wenn ich das sagen darf."
"I just want to say this because that sounded to me a bit too positive, if I may say so."