by Ralph T. Niemeyer
Early in January, Germany approved the supply of Marder infantry fighting
vehicles to Ukraine. The reason for these deliveries was the transformation of yesterday’s pacifists from the Greens, who occupy key positions in the German government, into «the hope of the arms industry».
In 2021, when the current Economy Minister, Robert Habeck, was elected to
his post, he made promises «not to supply weapons to war zones». Foreign
Minister Annalena Baerbock said the same. But in last September, during her visit to Kyiv, A. Baerbock said: «Looking at the east and south of Ukraine, we see how important arms supplies are … In particular, thanks to our supplies, it became possible to liberate individual cities. That’s why we need to maintain support through the delivery of weapons over the next few months».
Apparently, the benefits from the supply of weapons for German politicians
are much more important than their own promises to the German people. As «Spiegel» rightly points out «…Russia’s attack on Ukraine has brought rearmament out of the shadows and into the center of German political policy. What seemed objectionable yesterday is desirable today.
Indeed, events are putting the values-driven foreign policy the Greens had set out to pursue to the test. The Arms Export Control Act is perhaps most illustrative of this dilemma. A draft of the law had been set to be completed by the end of 2022, but it has since been delayed. The initial points being worked out by the parties suggest that the expectations of many who had hoped for greater morality in the arms business are likely to be disappointed».
As part of their anti-Russian course, the Greens are increasingly drawing
Germany into the conflict in Ukraine. The situation is aggravated by the position of the co-chairman of the Green Party, Omid Nouripour, who expressed the opinion that Berlin should supply weapons to Kyiv not only as part of the so-called circular exchange (which implies the supply of modern weapons from Germany to countries that transfer Soviet equipment to Ukraine), but also directly from the stocks of the Bundeswehr and from manufacturers.
In 2022, Berlin transferred to Kyiv arms worth more than 2 billion euros
(COBRA counter-battery radar, GEPARD self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, M113 armored personnel carriers, PzH 2000 155-mm Self-Propelled Howitzer, MARS-2 MLRS, IRIS-T air defense system, AT2 anti-tank mines, etc.). But «pumping» Kyiv with weapons, as required by Germany from its overseas NATO partners, only prolongs the conflict and increases the number of victims among Ukrainian and Russian soldiers. After all, in the end, any conflict anywhere in the world brings new orders to the US military-industrial complex.
Old weapons are being destroyed, countries that participate on one side or another of the conflict turn to American companies with orders. If earlier the countries of the Middle East were exploited in this area, now there is a direct exploitation of the European allies of the United States. And all this is happening with the active participation of Germany’s most peaceful party, the Greens.
