The Calamitous Errors of Germany's Russia Policy

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The Calamitous Errors of Germany's Russia Policy
Germany's political approach to Russia lies in ruins and its military is in miserable shape. The Russian invasion of Ukraine promises to change things, but how quickly can Berlin move?

By Melanie Amann, Markus Becker, Matthias Gebauer, Kevin Hagen, Konstantin von Hammerstein, Christoph Hickmann, Martin Knobbe, Veit Medick, Ralf Neukirch, Fidelius Schmid, Christoph Schult, Christian Teevs und Gerald Traufetter
25.02.2022, 19.32 Uhr


(Der Spiegel) For Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Andrä, the world has changed dramatically in recent days. He still has the same mission as before, the mandate hasn't changed, but its importance has suddenly increased, and with it, the attention. Andrä now finds himself right in the middle of this watershed moment.

"Of course, we’re much more in the focus now," he says over the phone on Wednesday morning. "Suddenly the issue of how NATO secures its eastern flank is of broader public interest."

Not even 24 hours after that phone call, Russia will invade Ukraine.

Andrä, 43, took command of NATO's multinational task force in Lithuania two weeks ago, with responsibility for a total of about 1,600 men and women, including 1,000 from Germany. The force has nine battle tanks and 25 infantry fighting vehicles, which is nothing compared to Russia’s forces, but enough to demonstrate a presence. Indeed, the mission is called Enhanced Forward Presence and it has been running for years, with NATO sending troops to the Baltic states on a rotating basis.

....(snip)....

A Watershed Moment

With regards to Russia, one could certainly not have said recently that Germany was well prepared. In that respect, Lieutenant Colonel Andrä could be something like the symbolic figure of a new era.

The Russian attack on Ukraine marks a watershed moment – for the world, for Europe, for German foreign policy and, specifically, for Berlin's Russia policy. For years, Vladimir Putin was allowed to do whatever he wanted. He could ignore international borders, murder political opponents, but in Germany's political leadership, the voices of appeasement consistently prevailed at each successive level of escalation. Talking was better than issuing threats, they said, dialogue better than sanctions. The worst-case scenario would never become reality, they insisted, since Putin is a rational actor. ..............(more)

https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/a-military-and-political-disaster-the-calamitous-errors-of-germany-s-russia-policy-a-c8b9818e-4bc2-4eb2-ac55-39e5790b29b2

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1. Maybe Germans have trouble recognizing rational actors.