Germany Has the Whole World in its Hands
David Rothkopf, Carnegie Endowment | April 12, 2011
With Japan sidelined through domestic crises, Germany has become world's third power after United States and China. ++ Without German action, European economies and global debt markets are at risk. If Germany does not lead, European initiatives in Middle East will be unsatisfactory and ineffective. ++ Should the EU, NATO, or the G20 have an effective future, Germany will play a key role in "setting the parameters of the agenda." Germany's role could be more central than its position on the podium would suggest.
Fri, Apr 15th 2011, 12:33
Chris Hawkins, University of Sussex, Silver Contributor (27)
'A categorical "no" to the use of armed force is not an option for the largest economic power in Europe. Germany pays the third-largest contribution to the UN, and it has long asserted a claim to a permanent seat on the Security Council. If this ambition was not already a mirage, it was possibly "kicked into the can once and for all" on March 17, as former German Forein Minister Joschka Fischer argued in the Süddeutsche Zeitung.'
Germany must accpet that the world is a nasty place. They cannot shy away from using their armed forces in certain situations no matter how it may go down domestically.