(Deutsche Version am Ende des Beitrags)
(Translation by Hartmut Lau)
The reaction of politicians and journalists in Germany to the massacre in Beslan was all too predictable.
After uttering a few predictable words regretting the murder of children, the vast majority of German media pundits and politicians turned to criticizing Putin. Putin created the terrorist reaction with his harsh policies; thus Germany’s girlie-men urgently recommend that, in his reaction to the brutish (my adjective, not theirs) massacre, he should most definitely not choose a tough, resolute line. The war against terrorism must, rather, be pursued by “political means” whatever that might mean. The recommendations about which political means should now be substituted for bellicose ones when dealing with terrorists are characterized, to the point of embarrassment, by their futility.
A few quotes from German girlie-men:
President Horst Köhler :
In a telegram made public by his office, Germany’s president wrote that the attack had caused the gravest concern. “[Terrorism]…is a threat to us all. We will only be able to successfully fight against it when we discover its causes and address them with political means as well.”
Foreign Minister Joschka "I am not convinced" Fischer:
The EU is firmly seized by reflexive, skeptical questioning of Moscow’s motives concerning all events having to do with the Chechen conflict. And so, although Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who was in Valkenburg last Friday, did indicate that he was “shocked that so many people died, especially children,” he added, in a tone indicating admonishment, that “we must oppose terror. We must oppose it politically, only politically.”
Stefan Voß, dpa [German Press Agency]:
“Putin only knows the language of toughness…cowardly considerations - perhaps letting an international peacekeeping force, under a UN mandate, calm the storm in the northern Caucasus - are nipped in the bud by the Kremlin.”
We briefly interrupt to accommodate the readers’ desire to giggle. UN peacekeepers in the Caucasus? For the first time I feel something like a twinge of pity for the Islamic terrorists – they deserve a more worthy opponent than Kofie Annan’s Keystone Cops:
UN peacekeeping force, on their way to the Caucasus region, as requested by German media... (Front row, first on the left: German stormtrooper)
Lorenz Maroldt, Tagesspiegel:
On Thursday Russian President Putin said that the primary goal was to protect the lives and health of the victims. But because Putin had a second primary goal – demonstrating uncompromising toughness toward the Caucasian rebels - that goal, yet again, was not achieved. Obviously, the two goals are irreconcilable. … The entire Caucasus is a powder keg. If Putin doesn’t want to put out the burning fuse, others must push him into doing it. That certainly won’t be the end of the terror. But it would be a beginning and the war against terrorism would have made progress.”
Frank Nienhuysen, Süddeutsche Zeitung:
“Russia needs an open debate about its policies vis a vis the Caucasus, argued without government interference in, inter alia, media that are allowed to freely inform the public about events on Russia’s southern flank. Putin would have to change course to allow this. Unfortunately all signs indicate that he’s too weak to undertake such a show of strength.”
...and so on...
These appeals for a political solution come from a country in which politicians and media mavens are entwined in the endless conduct of months-long, fruitless discussions about the most banal details of its socialist health care system. They come from a country that, thanks to plans to moderately reform its welfare system to approach international standards, has moved to the edge of popular revolt. They come from a country in which terrorists, with minimal effort, can conspire and develop terrorist attacks for years on end – and, when they’re finally discovered, don’t have to fear any punishment. They come from a country that cannot transport its own soldiers to international deployments in its own military aircraft because it doesn’t have any such aircraft.
These calls for political measures to deal with terrorist threats come from Germany.
The country where the people trust neither their politicians nor their policies.
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