Posted by andreas from dtm2-t8-2.mcbone.net (62.104.210.95) on Thursday, December 19, 2002 at 11:35AM :
The World Strategic Situation
1) Chief German Catholic Military Bishop Denounces Bush's War Talk As Irresponsible And Unchristian
2) Richard Perle Warns That If Germans Do Not Support The War, They'll Be Viewed As Supporters Of Saddam Hussein
3) Cheney Collecting Discrediting Data On Past German Arms Deals With Iraq, To Blackmail Them Into War
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1) Chief German Catholic Military Bishop Denounces Bush's War Talk As Irresponsible And Unchristian
Interviewed for last Sunday's edition of Welt am Sonntag, Walter Mixa (he has attacked the war build-up, before) said he prefers the idea of "just peace" to that of "just war." Retaliation, either to a military or a terrorist attack, is profoundly un-Christian and must not be permited in a democracy, Mixa said:
"The Second Vatican Council in its constitution gaudium et spes denounced present-day warfare, with its high-technology potentials of extinction, as abolutely immoral."
As far as the talk about a war on Iraq is concerned, Mixa said that he has heard, too, the news about Bush's threats with prompt nuclear retaliation to potential Iraqi bio-chemical attacks. "I consider this talk by the American Prsident as provocatory and dangerous...; with such threatening talk, which pronounces the respective position of power, the enemy is just provoked unnecessarily. Actually, an upward spiral of violence is being created by that, which will then lead to a terrible explosion. With that, any commitment to conciliation and to mutual respect of religions and cultures is being extinguished. From a political viewpoint, such an approach is irresponsible."
[Source: Welt am Sonntag, Dec. 17]
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2) Richard Perle Warns That If Germans Do Not Support The War, They'll Be Viewed As Supporters Of Saddam Hussein
In a variant of the "either for or against us" propaganda theme, Perle told the Springer press chain that as Germany is leading the camp of critics of an Iraq war, "it thereby helps Saddam Hussein. If the Chancellor even refuses to support a UN-mandated operation, one can only read that as a de-facto support for Saddam Hussein."
"We, however, never asked Gerhard Schroeder for his support. He said he is not going to that party? He has not even an invitation. The situation would be different if German support were crucial. It isn't. It is not of great importance for us."
If Germany, after entering the U.N. Security Council next February, voted against an Iraq intervention, "it would be a catastrophe for the German-American relations... it would be very serious. It would be such a severe disappointment, that I would be surprised if that would pass without a controversy," Perle said.
In a move certainly not unrelated, Jeffrey Gedmin, director of the Berlin branch of the Aspen Institute, attacked Germany and the European Union for their policy of dialogue with Iran, in an exclusive interview with IRNA.
[Source: Axel Springer Press, Dec. 17]
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3) Cheney Collecting Discrediting Data On Past German Arms Deals With Iraq, To Blackmail Them Into War
As the Berlin daily Tageszeitung revealed today, passages in the (allegedly secret) Iraqi dossier on armaments contain names of 80 German companies that have exported dual-use technology to Iraq, in some cases even into the year 2001.
"According to information from the circle immediately around Vice President Dick Cheney, the Bush Administration is presently trying to gather additional data with which it can document the military-technological cooperation between Germany and Iraq that is said to allegedly last to this day," the Taz wrote.
"A longtime high-ranking member of the Iraqi regime, whose name is known to the Taz, has signalled his commitment to the Bush Administration, to supply data on the cooperation with Germany, in exchange for a moderate treatment after an overthrow of the regime. As is said, the Bush Administration plans to use such data, to blackmail Germany into a favorable attitude, at the U.N. Security Council," the report said.
[Source: tageszeitung, other media, Dec. 17]
-- andreas
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