https://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=92115686&f=119&p=603728361Quote (thundercock @ 28 Jan 2022 18:50)
LOL! Thanks for the laugh, the news has been rather dreary and it's good to have some levity.
You can laugh all you want, whenever the U.S. or NATO tried to play world police outside of their own sphere of influence, say in Vietnam, the Middle East or Latin America, things invariably turned to shit.
Quote
I don't think we need to go to war over this. We just need to cripple their economy so badly that they think twice before violating Ukraine's sovereignty. You might not know this, but placing troops in another country's territory is a violation of their sovereignty. You need a DAMN good reason to violate another nation's sovereignty and the Russians really don't have one.
I don't even disagree with that. I even said as much: if Russia really invades Ukraine, there will be crippling economic sanctions. Since my country would shoulder a far higher share of the economic burden of these sanctions than yours, I hope that it doesn't come to this and support my country's attempts at playing a mediating and moderating role in this conflict.
Quote
Your country's reluctance to do the right thing shows that you're a pawn amongst the real players. It's a shame too because I think that Germany is capable of being THE leader of Europe but you've positioned yourself quite poorly. Hopefully Biden can keep your rogue government in line!
That's the key dilemma of German foreign policies over the past 150 years or so: we are too weak to dominate the rest of Europe, but we're also too big and strong to not play an outsized role. Also, our politicians have, for obvious reasons, strong reservations against acting too assertive on the international stage. Likewise, the size and funding of our military tends to be kept on the lower side of things. Investing heavily in our military and playing a more active role in armed conflicts abroad are both very unpopular positions among the German electorate. Can't even blame Scholz or Merkel for that; this "weakness" has been ingrained in our people for generations.
Quote (thundercock @ 28 Jan 2022 20:29)
Indeed. I'm SHOCKED at how weak Germany is acting here. Their weakness makes Biden look like fucking Patton in comparison. Germany already chose the correct side decades ago and they need to grow some balls and quit crying over their heaters. Their fucking grandparents/great-grandparents lived through some of the most difficult times and now they are complaining about not being able to turn the thermostat to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. :rofl:
What exactly would you expect Germany to do or say in the current situation? Preemptively cancel the North Stream 2 pipeline before a Russian soldier has even set foot onto Ukrainian soil? Send dozens of tanks and troops to Ukraine?