Germany to U.S.: Take your nukes!
Joseph Farah
Editor's Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of WND. Subscriptions are $99 a year or, for monthly trials, just $9.95 per month for credit card users, and provide instant access for the complete reports.
Angela Merkel |
Germany wants the United States to remove its nuclear weapons from German soil, with officials describing them as a "relic of the Cold War," according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
The issue, which has reappeared after some thought it had been laid to rest, has strategic implications for the two nations.
When conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel was campaigning last September for office she opposed having U.S. weapons removed.
At the time, then-German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, running as the center-left Social Democratic Party's official candidate for chancellor against Merkel, called for removal.
"These weapons are militarily obsolete today," Steinmeier said at the time.
But Merkel opposed the idea, saying their presence in Germany would give the country a major say in the policies and direction of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO.
In fact, she supported the NATO doctrine of "nuclear sharing," in which a non-nuclear country such as Germany that hosts a third country's nuclear weapons has a say in decision-making.
Having U.S. nuclear weapons on German soil, Merkel said at the time, ensures Germany's "influence in the defense alliance, including in this highly sensitive area."
But now her views have changed, as reflected in a written policy statement of her conservative party: "We will advocate within (NATO) Alliance and with our American allies the removal of the remaining nuclear weapons from Germany," the document states.
Although Merkel won re-election as chancellor, she appointed another foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, who advocates the removal of nuclear weapons.
According to informed sources, Westerwelle is obsessed with domestic issues and has been looking for a foreign policy matter that would resonate with German voters. With the removal of U.S. nukes from German soil, he apparently has found it.
Westerwelle, who represents Free Democrats, had joined Merkel's conservatives as a minor coalition partner to help ensure her election victory.
The flap is the latest in a roller-coaster relationship between the U.S. and Germany.
Other issues that have begun to put a strain on the relationship include Germany committing more troops to Afghanistan, when the prevalent view among German voters is to get out. Indeed, the Obama administration has asked European members who belong to NATO to commit more troops, but the response has been less than expected.
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