Munich security conference
Security conference in Munich has just ended. There has been talk about most security issues around the world. Ukraine and Syria were hotly debated, but those issues already have their respective threads here so I wouldn't dwell on them.
Instead, the most interesting thing to happen was a call from German president for his country to take more "active" and "decisive" role in the world, an opinion shared by German foreign minister.
This shows that Germany is ready to officially let go of its Nazi past and all the baggage that comes with it, and no longer shy away from having an opinion on or getting involved in various affairs around the world. It could be said that Germany was on the course for some time already, since the unification, but now the time is right to proclaim it publicly. Germany was already involved in the Yugoslavian crisis, where its involvement and decision making was not the best. Their decision to recognize Croatia as independent state, when even its western allies were urging caution and restraint, arguably led to intensification of the conflict and irreversibly set the path to military confrontation."Let us thus not turn a blind eye, not run from threats, but instead stand firm, not forget, neglect or betray universal values, but instead uphold these values together with our friends and partners," Gauck said.
He also said the use of force after authorization by the United Nations Security Council may sometimes be necessary, but that deploying troops could only ever be one element of an overall strategy.
"Germany will never support any purely military solution, but will approach issues with political judiciousness and explore all possible diplomatic options. However, when the last resort - sending in the Bundeswehr - comes to be discussed, Germany should not say 'no' on principle," Gauck said. "Nor should it say 'yes' unthinkingly."
Their first military involvement was in Kosovo, another case where decision making wasn't most sound, as Kosovo became the hotspot for illegal activities, from human trafficking to drugs, spiced up with a bit of radical Islam.
Their last two major decisions, to stay out of the mess that was Iraq and Afghanistan, proved correct, though.
What I find rather interesting is that we're seeing two most belligerent nations of WW2, Germany and Japan, seemingly ready to take more active role in the world. The difference between those two is that Germany accepted what has happened and its role in it and is now basically declaring the mourning period over, although their decision to recognize independent Croatia which was lead by a basically Nazi party in disguise and whose leader was known for his denial of the Holocaust and other crimes committed by fascists during WW2 is a blemish on their record. Japan, on the other hand, didn't quite deal with its past, and is displaying more nationalism than healthy with their decision to either ignore or "forget" about their actions during the war.
What is your opinion of this and how will it affect the world?
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Originally Posted by Sarmatian
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