Without Our Own Internet, Germany and Europe Have No Sovereignty (Der Spiegel, Germany)
"The notion of entering into a 'no-spy agreement' is
absurd. The U.S. is incapable of entering into an agreement that demands
self-restraint. There is no agreement in the world to which the U.S.
intelligence services would adhere - we now know that much. But stopping the
Free Trade Agreement would be equally wrong. Why should Germany harm its
economic interests to defend its legal interests? ... In South America, the
creation of their own network is being contemplated. That is also the correct
path for the European Union."
America thinks
it is at war and no longer acknowledges its allies. The era of post-war
nostalgia is over. Europe and Germany must protect their interests themselves -
and upgrading themselves technology.
"Because
of the entire international situation, sovereignty of the Federal Republic of
Germany is politically impossible, nor is it desirable, without reunification
with the Soviet zone," said Gerhard Luetkens,
the first postwar Social Democratic Party foreign policy expert. That was in 1951,
in what was still the parliament in Bonn, and one wouldn't have thought we
would be coming back to this again. The problem was supposed to have been taken
care of: Far and wide - there is no Soviet zone to be seen, and Germany is reunified
as a sovereign state.
But
that was a mistake. In no way are we sovereign. A sovereign state would not
allow a foreign power to spy on its entire citizen population - and certainly not
its chancellor. But this is something Germany tolerates- and it isn't because of, as Luetkens said, "the entire international situation."
It is because of the chancellor. Under her leadership, Berlin is by necessity
once again what Bonn was: a suburb of Washington.
This
past week was rough for Angela Merkel. She isn't usually unsentimental, but
when it comes to America, she is generally not considered capable of the coolness
once expressed
by Bismarck: "I cannot justify, either in myself or others, that
sympathies and antipathies with regard to foreign powers and persons should
take precedence over my sense of duty in the foreign service of my country."
Just
two years ago, the woman from the East was proud when the U.S. president awarded
her the Medal of Freedom, and now she learns that this same man's secret
service has been spying on her.
Generally
speaking, there is a lot of disappointed affection on the German side. Didn't
we not think we were friends of the Americans?Did we not go to war with them in Afghanistan? Did we not die with them
there? And yet they trample on us?
It
is time to leave the nostalgia of the post-war years behind. Our longing for
the West ends at Cape
Finisterre. Germany has Europe - and nothing else. We're happy to be U.S.
allies, but to quote Bismarck again – even this alliance is subject to "rebus sic stanti."
When
circumstances change, the cards are reshuffled. Neither France nor Germany has
withdrawn their allegiance to the United States. But the U.S. has withdrawn its
commitment to reason. The bitter truth: Digital omnipotence has gone to the
heads of the Americans. In its current condition, is the country even capable
of alliances? According
to The New York Times, The word "ally"
is slowly starting to sound like a 20th century term that has lost all meaning."
Absurd Rituals:
Minimization and Empty Threats
The
U.S. has imposed a permanent state of emergency on itself and the world. It has
now become a totalitarian state in the sense that its right to security has
become absolute and all encompassing - making it somewhat self-destructive. No
conceivable benefit can outweigh the damage this surveillance has done. It is
quite simple: The Americans really don't need a lesson in democracy from the
Germans - but Germans shouldn't tolerate American surveillance. German-American
relations will survive this disaster - but German-American friendship may not.
Merkel,
one can well imagine, is furious, but the correct policy response still hasn't
been issued. First, the absurd ritual of minimizing events will be replaced by
the equally absurd ritual of empty threats: It's touching the way our Interior
Minister Friedrich talks like the lawyer that he is: "Surveillance is a
punishable offence and those responsible must be held accountable."
Friedrich and Pofalla - Summertime Masters of Minimization
Incidentally,
this scandal will become the first sin committed by [Merkel's] impending Grand
Coalition: If the SPD were still part of the
opposition, Interior Minister Friedrich and Chancellery Chief of Staff Pofalla, masters of [NSA scandal] minimization this past
summer, would have to dress warmly.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
And
now? The notion of entering into a "no-spy agreement" is absurd. The
U.S. is incapable of entering into an agreement that demands self-restraint. There
is no agreement in the world to which the U.S. intelligence services would adhere
- we now know that much. But stopping the Free Trade Agreement would be equally
wrong. Why should Germany harm its economic interests to defend its legal
interests?
Angela
Merkel must now do something she has no talent for: intentionally shape policy.
She wasn't elected to be Washington's concierge. The alliance with America is a
community of interests, not values. Therefore, Europe - and Germany - should do
a better job of defending their interests.
In
South America, the creation of their own network is being contemplated. That is
also the correct path for the European Union: A massive project for a digital
continental infrastructure - but without Britain, which cannot be a reliable
partner.
And
because there is a new Cold War, Merkel should recall Helmut Schmidt and the NATO Double
Track Decision. This time, however, it isn't clear who the enemy is. It may
even be our best friend. Germany should arm itself against this: Our
intelligence services and digital security must be strengthened. As unlikely as
it sounds, Angela Merkel must arm and upgrade - technologically.
