Lieutenant General Christian Freuding fears the longstanding military partnership between the two allies is unravelling under President Trump’s administration

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/39664905

Lieutenant General Christian Freuding fears the longstanding military partnership between the two allies is unravelling under President Trump’s administration

The Pentagon has “cut off contact” between American defence officials and their German counterparts, according to the head of Germany’s army.

The United States has traditionally treated Germany as one of its most important European allies. It is thought to have about 35,000 soldiers stationed at German bases such as Ramstein and Stuttgart, which serve as staging posts for American operations across Africa and the Middle East.

Since President Trump’s return to power in January, the relationship between the countries has become markedly cooler.

  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 hour ago

    However, Germany could just refuse to allow anyone to supply food, power, petrol etc. to American bases

    Why would German business interests turn down lucrative contracts to supply heavily marked up commodities to a captive clientele? And why would the German state government interfere with the finances of prolific political donors?

    Maybe the German citizenry could boycott the bases. But they’d need a large nationalist labor movement for that kind of effort. And I’m not seeing it happen in a nation as sharply divided along regional and ethnic lines.

    The reason nato was created was the threat of the soviet Russian empire

    Not until after the Korean War, and the official entrance of West Germany to NATO, did the goal shift to Soviet containment. The original explicit stated purpose of the organization was to prevent German re-militarization - a perceived error of the original WW1 settlement. Soviet Russia was considered an ally and partner in this purpose under FDR and only became a belligerent under Truman, in the scramble to entrench capitalism as the primary economic model of the Pacific Rim.

    • undergroundoverground@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 hour ago

      If they wanted them gone bad enough, they could starve them out. I’m not sure how you’ve convinced yourself that isn’t a possible option for them, if pushed far enough. I’m not saying they will but the idea that they couldn’t is just ridiculous.

      Nato was formed in 1949 which was before the korea war and was always about preventing soviet aggression. No amount of pretending otherwise will change that. Britain and America had already occupied Germany after ww2 and that didn’t officially end until 1955. I get it, you don’t like nato but you’re not doing you side any favours here.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
        11·
        1 hour ago

        If they wanted them gone bad enough, they could starve them out.

        Who is “they”? Clearly, the German business class don’t want American soldiers gone. They’re a profit center. And the locals who have to deal with these dickbags running around, crashing vehicles, assaulting people at bars, and otherwise making anyone within half a mile of a base miserable clearly don’t have any kind of actual economic control of the municipalities.

        Nato was formed in 1949 which was before the korea war and was always about preventing soviet aggression.

        Why wasn’t West Germany invited until six years later?