War on two fronts?: German Chancellor Merkel and China President Hu:

Is Germany, with export growth driven by a weak euro, the Western

equivalent of China - and  a threat to the Atlantic Alliance?

Will America’s ‘War on Two Fronts’ Be Against Germany and China? (La Stampa, Italy)

“Washington is beginning to ask whether Germany's predominance in Europe is really compatible with an 'Atlantic West'. … And whether there is perhaps a danger that Germany under Merkel could be tempted to follow in the footsteps of China and set itself up as the world champion in exports, spurred on by a weak euro. What if the greatest challenge to American hegemony theorized by Pentagon strategists, a ‘war on two fronts,’ was in fact economic in nature?”

By Vittorio Emanuele Parsi

Translated By Rinald Meta

June 6, 2012

Italy - La Stampa - Original Article (Italian)

There are empirical causes and long-standing reasons for the harshness and urgency of President Obama’s repeated scolding of European leaders.

His intention is to spur them on to take the measures required to avoid a global recession - particularly Angela Merkel. The most urgent reason has to do with the fact that election time is approaching. The Obama Administration has a strong and not unfounded suspicion that a European recession would trigger a boomerang effect on the American economy (from which the infection originated), considering that Europe is seen as partly responsible for the unexpected worsening of the U.S. employment figures. This is clearly a luxury Obama can ill afford five months before the election, which is amply demonstrated by fact that in recent polls, Mitt Romney has caught up to him.

The second reason is bound up with the transatlantic relationship and the solidification of a shared perspective on what the West represents. Paradoxically, when it comes to strategic and security matters, this appears more firm (at least for now). Despite bitter divisions with France and Germany over the war in Iraq and the anticipated early withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan, it was recent crises triggered by the Arab Spring that saw the Western world more united than one might have expected.

NATO’s military intervention in Libya didn’t register any significant defections, and the pressure being put on the Assad regime has met with approval in both Washington and the major capitals of the Union. Even the crisis over Iran’s nuclear program has seen a transatlantic convergence that could not have been taken for granted. It’s also worth mentioning that the unanimous firmness demonstrated by the West on these occasions has highlighted the continuing gap between the ethical standards of the Kremlin and European governments - something that has contributed to estrangement from the Eurasian project, an idea so dear to Moscow that even Berlin hasn’t been completely immune from it.

Posted by Worldmeets.US

In recent months, however, the economic and financial soundness of the Western bloc has proven worrisome. Particularly when what has begun to unfold is a (less) united Europe under (isolated and myopic) German leadership, which might be more inclined to loosen the economic and cultural bonds of Western solidarity. While it is true that the crisis primarily affects Europe, it is also true that on a continent in distress, Germany is swimming against the tide. Her industries continue to be productive, her accounts are in order and inflation is low; and thanks to the weakness of the euro, Germany enjoys a devaluation that does nothing but benefit the second-largest exporting economy of the planet without tainting its reputation for strict financial diligence.

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Le Monde, France: Francois Hollande: A French Socialist in Washington
Le Figaro, France: Obama, Hollande Say What Merkel Doesn’t Want to Hear
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White House, U.S.: VIDEO: Obama Welcomes Hollande to the White House
Die Welt, Germany: Romney, Obama and the Future of Europe
Toronto Star, Canada: After Afghanistan, NATO Should Reform or 'Call it Quits'
Deutsche Welle, Germany: NATO Summit to Debate Global-Policeman Role
Deutsche Welle, Germany : Why Moscow says 'Nyet' to NATO Defense System
Guardian, U.K.: Obama Caught Between Competing Visions for Fixing Eurozone Crisis
Moscow Times, Russia : Why Putin Skipped Out on G8 Summit

Russia Today, Russia: VIDEO - Demonstrators Descend for G8 'Showdown'  

For years, Washington saw Germany as its most loyal ally. European unification was supported by Washington as a way of anchoring the country in the Atlantic West - particularly when Germany sat on a militarized frontier along which an enemy presence was a daily reminder of the need to keep Germany within NATO. And Germany’s division reinforced the Atlanticist point of view. It has been over twenty years since the end of that era. What the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan failed to do - namely weaken the Alliance - may occur now because Germany, lacking the courage to consciously pursue a “grand plan” to address the current crisis, may simply be “stubborn” enough to undermine to the foundations of the Western Alliance.

Which is why Washington is beginning to ask whether Germany's predominance in Europe is really compatible with an “Atlantic West.” And rather than wondering whether a new China [Germany] will follow in the footsteps of Kaiser Wilhelm (attempting to create continental hegemony by force), one shouldn’t be more concerned about Angela Merkel's Germany attempting to follow in the footsteps of today's China, setting itself up as the planetary export champion, spurred on by a weak euro. What if the greatest challenge to American hegemony theorized by Pentagon strategists, a “war on two fronts,” was in fact economic in nature?