Lines in the sand, lines in the snow
Key segment from Donald Rumsfeld's address to The Munich Conference on Security Policy this morning:
"To understand what is at stake, it is worth reminding ourselves of the history of the UN's predecessor, the League of Nations. When the League failed to act after the invasion of Abyssinia, it was discredited as an instrument of peace and security. The lesson of that experience was best summed up at the time by Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who declared, 'Collective bluffing cannot bring about collective security.'That lesson is as true today, at the start of the 21st century, as it was in the 20th century. The question before us is — have we learned it?
There are moments in history when the judgement and resolve of free nations are put to the test. This is such a moment. The security environment we are entering is the most dangerous the world has known. The lives of our children and grandchildren could well hang in the balance."
Read the full speech here.
While Rumsfeld was speaking, an estimated 12,000 demonstrators were massing to protest against his presence and politics. Wearing her "Ami go home" placard, Gudrun was defying the driving snow in Odeonsplatz as she waited to hear a series of speeches condemning the US and its policies. She kept her feet warm, as did many others, by stamping her feet to the music of Ron Williams, an expat American now living in Germany. And what was Ron singing? "Give peace a chance?" No. It was, actually, "Mustang Sally".
Listening to him work the crowd, one felt inclined to agree with that fine central European writer Gregor von Rezzori, who once said: "What was left of Europe after World War II was not European any longer. Most of it had been transformed into a secondhand America."
But back to Gudrun the dove. Her "Ami go home" sign, she said, expressed her dislike of the superpower's "interfering" all over the world. Would she then prefer an isolationist USA? One that hadn't flinched in the face of communist tyranny and borne the burdens of the Berlin Airlift, and displayed the resolve that led to the re-unification of Germany? The incredibly convoluted response would need a billboard, not a placard, for presentation. For the Gudruns of Germany, the US is damned if it does, and damned if it doesn't.
Comments
"The incredibly convoluted response would need a billboard, not a placard, for presentation".
These people are complete muddle-heads. They also seem to protest NATO, they haven't realized yet that it is obsolete. Most Europeans countries (both from "old" and "new" Europe) aren't contributing enough to keep it viable.
Posted by: Ralf Goergens | February 8, 2003 2:21 PM
Who's Ami? Is that how you spell Amy in germany?
Posted by: Bob American | February 8, 2003 8:58 PM
No, it's a pretty vulgar abbreviation for American.
Posted by: Ralf Goergens | February 8, 2003 9:44 PM
Gudrun would seem to have a very short memory. Bosnia would probably still be a mess had NATO and the US not sent in active military support, smoking guns and all (while Germany only participated in a combat support role.)
By the way, one of the American colloquial terms for German, used in about the same context that a German might use the term Ami, is Herm.
Posted by: Scott Karns | February 9, 2003 3:01 AM
Thanks for the link to Rummy's speach. It was a great speach.
Nice blog, BTW.
Posted by: Greg Dougherty | February 10, 2003 3:05 AM