(By Ray D.)
(UPDATE: Politically Incorrect demolishes Kister here in German. He points out that a lot of Europeans had to know about the so-called "spying" on international bank transactions.)
Revelations of American "spying" on international financial transactions have provided further opportunity for some in German media to take the usual cheap shots at the United States. One particularly ugly example is a commentary by SZ author Kurt Kister that seems to imply that US soldiers are involved in an organized campaign of murder. He writes:
"The number of cases in which US soldiers have murdered in Iraq and not just killed in fighting has gotten so big that one can no longer speak of regrettable isolated incidents."
So what is Kister implying? It sounds as if he believes American soldiers are engaged in a campaign of murder that is simply being allowed to take its course. It sounds as if he believes the US government condones (or even encourages) murder. It also sounds as if Mr. Kister is confusing murder charges with murder convictions and, like so many in the German media, believes American soldiers to be guilty until proven innocent. In fact, the reason we hear about such cases is often because soldiers charged with misconduct are tried in a court of law by their own government.
Mr. Kister also claims that the collection of information on international financial transactions by the United States is a further sign that the US is willing to violate, "established law, international conventions and moral benchmarks." At the same time he does not offer a single specific example of which law, convention or benchmark has been violated.
He claims that he calls the "intelligence-political complex" can kidnap, torture and disappear those it finds suspect whenever it deems the action appropriate. The "intelligence-political complex"? Is this a new construct (much like the "military-industrial complex") that the paranoid Euro-leftist must now fear? It is true that in the war on terror, individuals have been wrongfully detained, tortured and even killed. But to claim that an "intelligence-political complex" exists which seeks to engage in such activities is simply absurd. Above all, it is the typical one-sided telling of the story that we have come to expect of wide segments of the German media.
Additionally, Mr. Kister insists that the United States has repeatedly violated or suspended the common values that serve as the foundation for German-American relations. But perhaps he failed to consider that German trade with Iran, Sudan and Cuba might also be perceived by some Americans as a violation of "common values." Perhaps he failed to recognize that housing discrimination against minorities, which is perfectly legal in Germany, might be considered a threat to common values. Perhaps he failed to reflect that prostitution and human trafficking in Germany are a threat to common values. What Mr. Kister clearly did assume is that Germans, and particularly German journalists, occupy the moral high ground and have only to lecture down to their American "friends."
Here's an idea: Maybe Mr. Kister and other Germans worried about America's "transgressions" against their "values," particularly at places like Camp Gitmo, should consider the advice of journalist Florian Klenk. Mr. Klenk writes that if Europeans are really interested in seeing Guantanamo shut down, they should offer asylum to the remaining inmates. His article's name: "Volunteers Forward!" So far no one has volunteered...
Update: Richard Bartholomew has kindly translated a larger excerpt of Kister's commentary:
Recent Comments