The German government has permitted Ukraine the use of German weapons against Russian territory. This caused a debate not limited to Germany. Many voices fear an escalation of the conflict.
One of them is Thomas Fasbender, the geopolitics editor of the German daily newspaper Berliner Zeitung. The newspaper is not pro-Russian. In a commentary in the same media, Alexander Dubowy supported the government decision, calling it “long overdue”.
Fasbender on the other side warns against the escalation and places the current conflict into a historical context. He warns “Germans” to learn from history. Below we present the article of Fasbender. Translation by UWI.
By Thomas Fasbender
The Latins already knew: Fiat iustitia et pereat mundus. Ensure justice, even if the world perishes in the process. What do we care about the consequences if we only help order to prevail?
After all, the Russian war of aggression was against international law from the very beginning. The culprit for the war was therefore already known before the war broke out. And this knowledge of being in the right and having right makes us forget all caution: Common sense and, above all, the historical experience. We Germans have started two major wars against Russia in a hundred years; we really should know how this enemy can fight and suffer. And as incomparable as the circumstances and personnel were in 1914 and 1941, things would not have got this far without German arrogance and German megalomania.
It will be no different the third time around. It’s just that our megalomania and arrogance are no longer malicious – we will fight the next war against Russia in the name of morality, values and law. In the name of good.
You think it’s not that far yet? Because we’re only escalating a little bit, because it doesn’t make much difference? That it’s only fair that Ukraine should be allowed to defend itself? Even with Western weapons firing on Russian territory?
Indeed, all this is fair and just. But perhaps justice is not everything. Weren’t there four cardinal virtues: justice, courage, temperance and prudence?
Drunk with justice, immeasurably brave and oh, so clever (we believe to be), we throw our weapons into the Ukrainian battle. Now, Kyiv can use them against Russian territory near the border. Next, the area can be expanded; a possible no-fly zone over western Ukraine is already being discussed. That too could be expanded. The West can also allow Ukraine to destroy the Kerch Bridge. It can also supply Taurus cruise missiles. The West still has a few aces up its sleeve.
Russia is different. Russia has huge spaces, 140 million people – and lots of atomic bombs of all sizes. And Russia does not want to lose this war. When Napoleon sat in the Kremlin in 1812, the French generals were firmly convinced: Now, the Tsar is sending his emissaries. Now, they will negotiate. Instead, the Russians burned down their own capital. Are we really so presumptuous as to believe that things would be different today?
How will Russia react to our salami escalation? Rhetorically, of course. That will happen two or three times. Vladimir Putin ordered exercises on the use of tactical nuclear weapons weeks ago. From his point of view, the signal has been given.
We may believe that our actions are in defense of law and order, but Russia (the elite and a large part of the population) believes that we are trying to bring it to its knees.
There is an instructive anecdote from Putin’s childhood. In the stairwell of his parents’ apartment in Leningrad, he cornered a rat; eventually, it bravely jumped on him and escaped to freedom. He respected the animal for the rest of his life.
Fighting around the town of Vovchansk is currently at the center of the Ukraine war. Institute for the Study of War
If there is one country that has come to know Russia as an enemy and opponent, it is Germany. We Germans should now stand up and shout: Stop! Unfortunately, we have as much political backbone as a wet sponge. We are drunk with pride at having “arrived” in the West and in the 21st century; on the way there, we have cheerfully given away everything that is ours, including our own experiences. Like Hans in Luck, we stand there and are only good. Do you want the just war? (Note: The author uses the same formula as Joseph Goebbels did in 1943, when asking the crowd: “Do you want the total war”, UWI)
I wish us all a peaceful summer and you a relaxing weekend! Yours, Thomas Fasbender, Head of Geopolitics