Article

2006-01-29 Europe

Germany may need own nuclear weapons: Scholz

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Posted by lotp 2006-01-29 15:25|| || Front Page|| [7 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Germany may need to build its own nuclear weapons to counter the threat of nuclear bombs falling into the hands of a terrorist state, a former German defence minister said Thursday

*Spiiit* D&%$#@*!!, now I have to clean up my keyboard again. This is gonna make some waves.

Back when I was on active duty, I had a SFC who used to joke about how poland would go on alert every time the germans cranked their Leo II's for weekly PMCS. One can only imagine the thoughts in the russian, polish, and other east euro defense ministries, after reading this article.

Posted by N guard 2006-01-29 15:41|| 2006-01-29 15:41|| Front Page Top

#2
The German minister later added, "we would be willing to buy them from Iran, if they would supply favorable financing terms."

Posted by Master of Obvious 2006-01-29 15:42|| 2006-01-29 15:42|| Front Page Top

#3 Berlin should first try to get binding guarantees from the NATO alliance that it would protect Germany in case nuclear threats were directed at the country.

Sure, for a reliable ally like Germany we'd do anything.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-01-29 15:48|| 2006-01-29 15:48|| Front Page Top

#4 I'd much rather promise nuclear protection to Germany than worry about them building nuclear missles.

Posted by Phumble Jaimble2108 2006-01-29 16:05|| 2006-01-29 16:05|| Front Page Top

#5 We made that offer in the early 1960s. It was called the Multilateral Force proposals.

Posted by lotp 2006-01-29 16:15|| 2006-01-29 16:15|| Front Page Top

#6 I saw how much they were worried about their own asses, when they refused to join the Coalition Of The Willing, in preventing the proliferation and or use of WMD's under the old Saddam regime! Germany needs to first, stop callin the kettle black !

Posted by smn 2006-01-29 16:54|| 2006-01-29 16:54|| Front Page Top

#7 Maybe they should think about kicking the collective a$$es of the MMs of Iran, but they have nothing to kick them with. Typical thinking: always defense, never pre-emptive offence with a coalition of the willing.

Posted by Alaska Paul">Alaska Paul 2006-01-29 17:22|| 2006-01-29 17:22|| Front Page Top

#8 Gee, he didn't mention the name of a terrorist state. Wonder if he meant Iran?

My money's on a country much closer to Germany that has been making nuclear threats lately.

France.

Posted by Robert Crawford">Robert Crawford 2006-01-29 18:28|| http://www.kloognome.com/]">[http://www.kloognome.com/] 2006-01-29 18:28|| Front Page Top

#9 25 shutter nukes are a hell of a lot cheaper than 2 expeditionary divisions.

Posted by 6 2006-01-29 18:50|| 2006-01-29 18:50|| Front Page Top

#10 The actions of the 1968ers coming home to roost? They must think they have to have a deterent against The United States of America.

Now that some in the US awake from inattention to things The Federal Republic of Germany is doing and how "unhelpful" they have become it may be a good idea to put a dapmer on that idea. The world doesn't need more Atomic weapons. It needs none in Europe.

Posted by Sock Puppet O´ Doom 2006-01-29 19:53|| 2006-01-29 19:53|| Front Page Top

#11 We need to announce a doctrine that any nuclear attack on any state that
a) is non-nuclear and
b) wants to be under our protection/deterrent umbrella, including the Gulf states and non-nuclear NATO powers, will be answered by nuclear anihilation by the US.

A 2nd aspect of this doctrine is that, if the nuke strike in question comes from an unknown source, we will destroy all known nuclear powers on that state department terrorist list just to be safe.

We could include an 'out clause' if the nation attacked concludes they do not want retaliation AND our intel tells us that we are not at risk for a follow on strike. That way the Germans can sign up but still opt out when they conclude they deserved it.

That means if a bomb goes off in Bremen and we're not sure who did it, NK and Iran do not exist 3 hours later. If Venesuela nukes up, we'd do them too.

It's harsh, but it will change the incentive structure with regard to inspections, IAEA cooperation, etc.

Posted by JAB 2006-01-29 19:55|| 2006-01-29 19:55|| Front Page Top

#12 Berlin should first try to get binding guarantees from the NATO alliance that it would protect Germany

We saw how binding those NATO guarantees are, when Turkey felt threatened before the invasion of Iraq, and the European NATO members flat out refused to help.

Posted by trailing wife 2006-01-29 21:06|| 2006-01-29 21:06|| Front Page Top

#13 as Tom Lehrer reminded us: "...Once all the Germans were warlike and mean, but that couldn't happen again/ We taught them a lesson in 1918 and they've hardly bothered us since then..."

A nuclear Germany??? hmmm...

Posted by Justrand 2006-01-29 21:08|| 2006-01-29 21:08|| Front Page Top

#14 Justrand - WHICH Tom Leher song? I gotta CD here somewhere! "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" and the song that rhymes the periodic table. Wow.

Posted by Bobby 2006-01-29 21:13|| 2006-01-29 21:13|| Front Page Top

#15 MLF Lullaby. It was inspired by the multilateral force proposals I mentioned above.

"MLF will scare Brezhnev -
I hope he is half as scared as I !"

Posted by lotp 2006-01-29 21:19|| 2006-01-29 21:19|| Front Page Top

#16 Full lyrics are here.

Posted by lotp 2006-01-29 21:20|| 2006-01-29 21:20|| Front Page Top

#17 And while we're at it, there's this one:

spoken intro: This year we've been celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the Civil War and the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of World War I and the twentieth anniversary of the end of World War II. So all in all, it's been a good year for the war buffs.

And a number of LPs and television specials have come out capitalizing on all this nostalgia, with particular emphasis on the songs of the various wars.

I feel that if any songs are gonna come out of World War III, we'd better start writing them now. I have one here. Might call it a bit of pre-nostalgia.

This is the song that some of the boys sang as they went bravely off to World War III:*

So long, mom,
I'm off to drop the bomb,
So don't wait up for me.
But while you swelter
Down there in your shelter
You can see me
On your TV.

While we're attacking frontally
Watch Brinkley and Huntley
Describing contrapuntally
The cities we have lost.
No need for you to miss a minute of the agonizing holocaust. Yeah!

Little Johnny Jones, he was a US pilot,
And no shrinking violet was he.
He was mighty proud when World War III was declared.
He wasn't scared, no siree!

And this is what he said on
His way to Armageddon:

So long, mom,
I'm off to drop the bomb,
So don't wait up for me.
But though I may roam,
I'll come back to my home
Although it may be
A pile of debris.

Remember, mommy,
I'm off to get a commie,
So send me a salami
And try to smile somehow.
I'll look for you when the war is over,
An hour and a half from now!

Posted by lotp 2006-01-29 21:25|| 2006-01-29 21:25|| Front Page Top

#18 For those of you who sing, or play piano or guitar, there is a Tom Lehrer songbook. It isn't quite complete, but does have most of his oevre. Trailing daughter #1 sang the Irish Lullaby for her school talent show last year -- this being the heart of the Midwest, the first night the audience were appalled at the bloodthirstiness of it all ("But she looks so sweet! Did you hear what she just sang!?!?"), the second night they applauded every verse.

Posted by trailing wife 2006-01-29 21:49|| 2006-01-29 21:49|| Front Page Top

#19 About a maid I'll sing a song,
sing rickety-tickety-tin.
About a maid I'll sing a song,
she did not have her family long.
Not only did she do them wrong -
she did every one of them in,
them in,
she did every one of them in.

aargh - I've got to head off to bed for early rising with Lehrer running through my brain!

Posted by lotp 2006-01-29 21:52|| 2006-01-29 21:52|| Front Page Top

#20 "64 years too late!", moans Paulus from the grave...

Posted by borgboy 2006-01-29 23:08|| 2006-01-29 23:08|| Front Page Top

16:21 wxjames
23:56 Redneck Jim
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23:15 borgboy
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22:50 bk
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22:24 trailing wife
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22:12 Joluling Jolurt5841
22:06 Inspector Clueso
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21:55 Monsieur Moonbat
21:53 trailing wife
21:52 lotp