"Support our Troops" - Now Available in Germany

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday July 24, 2010 · 2:24 AM PDT

2010/07/24 · 02:24

What is common in the United States, is rather rare in Germany: Expressing support of our soldiers in Afghanistan.

While most US critics of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan make extra efforts to distinguish between criticism of the strategy/purpose of the wars and the service of the troops, such differentiation usually is not made in Germany. I have never seen a car with the bumper sticker "Support our Troops."

Poll

38 votes Show Results

What do you think of Germans supporting their troops

38 votes Vote Now!

What do you think of Germans supporting their troops

Great. Their soldiers in Afghanistan need moral support

18 votes

Nice. This will lead to more support for US led missions

5 votes

Bad Idea. German soldiers suck

3 votes

Awful. This will lead to rising militarism in Germany

9 votes

Catastrophe. Next they will invade Poland again

3 votes

Europeans Are "a Pack of Pagan Losers"

Berlin Bear

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday April 11, 2010 · 2:24 AM PDT

2010/04/11 · 02:24

"A spectre is haunting Europe—the spectre of Communism." Those were the words of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848 and their predictions turned out to be highly accurate, as we all know. Now the spectre of communism is haunting America and the end of the world is near.

The conservative media is scared shitless by this spectre and accuses Obama of turning the land of the free and the home of the brave into Russia/Europe/communism/socialism. Read More

Obama Does Not Have International Friends

Berlin Bear

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday April 05, 2010 · 3:46 AM PDT

2010/04/05 · 03:46

President Obama thus far has failed to strengthen relationships with historic

allies, focusing instead on a fruitless search for improved relations with
adversaries, writes Robert Kagan in the Washington Post (via Atlantic Community):

The president who ran against "unilateralism" in the 2008
campaign has worse relations overall with American allies than George W. Bush
did in his second term.

Israelis shouldn't feel that they have been singled out.

Berlin Bear

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday May 13, 2008 · 2:58 PM PDT

2008/05/13 · 14:58

My sister Daphne studied Burmese music in Yangon. She is in touch with teachers and students at the music school Gitameit. They are organizing relief aid. Daphne wrote this:

Small and local aid agencies are best equipped to help the victims of cyclone Nargis because they are already operating on the ground. Donations to these agencies are more effective since big aid organizations are still struggling to access the affected areas. Local relief groups such as the Music School Gitameit, are providing the most urgently needed first-aid supplies.

For two years I lived in Yangon, studying Burmese traditional music and teaching classical flute at the Gitameit Music Center, a private school founded by the American pianist Kit Young in 2003. I returned to Berlin in December 2007 to finish my masters in Musicology and Southeast Asian Studies.

My friends, former colleagues, and students all tell me that Yangon, the old capital, is widely devastated and that the fertile delta of the Irrawaddy River is still flooded.

Berlin Bear

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday March 09, 2008 · 4:21 PM PDT

2008/03/09 · 16:21

Helga Haftendorn, professor emeritus at the Free University of Berlin and one of the leading experts on transatlantic relations, argues that "a common transatlantic strategy for global challenges is nowhere in sight -- even in the event of a Democratic US administration come 2009."

Poll

45 votes Show Results

More Transatlantic Cooperation once the Democrats are back in the White House?

45 votes Vote Now!

More Transatlantic Cooperation once the Democrats are back in the White House?

Yes

38 votes

7 votes

An International Study Group for Afghanistan

Berlin Bear

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday February 23, 2008 · 7:02 AM PST

2008/02/23 · 07:02

We need an International Afghanistan Study Group, modeled after the Iraq Study Group, but with representatives from Europe and Asia as well.

Poll

6 votes Show Results

Do we need an International Afghanistan Study Group?

Yes, an international study group could lead to new diplomatic initiative that peace to Afghanistan

Sure, the study group might come up with great suggestions, but NOBODY will implement them

Sure, the study group might come up with great suggestions, but the UNITED STATES will not implement them

Sure, the study group might come up with great suggestions, but most EUROPEAN countries will not implement them

Sure, but it will be too late, when the Americans and Europeans will finally decide to implement them

No, these study groups are a waste of time, money and paper. They do not make good suggestions

No study group is needed. The solution is clear: More troops for the war against the Taliban

No study group is needed. The solution is clear: Immediate withdrawal of all NATO troops from Afghanistan

I don't care about Afghanistan.

None of the above. Read my comment instead.

6 votes Vote Now!

Do we need an International Afghanistan Study Group?

Yes, an international study group could lead to new diplomatic initiative that peace to Afghanistan

1 vote

Sure, the study group might come up with great suggestions, but NOBODY will implement them

0 votes

Sure, the study group might come up with great suggestions, but the UNITED STATES will not implement them

0 votes

Sure, the study group might come up with great suggestions, but most EUROPEAN countries will not implement them

0 votes

Sure, but it will be too late, when the Americans and Europeans will finally decide to implement them

3 votes

No, these study groups are a waste of time, money and paper. They do not make good suggestions

1 vote

No study group is needed. The solution is clear: More troops for the war against the Taliban

0 votes

No study group is needed. The solution is clear: Immediate withdrawal of all NATO troops from Afghanistan

0 votes

I don't care about Afghanistan.

1 vote

None of the above. Read my comment instead.

0 votes

Blogosphere to Europe: No Free Rides on US Blood

Berlin Bear

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday November 04, 2007 · 1:28 PM PST

2007/11/04 · 13:28

American bloggers and their readers react with surprise and sarcasm to European calls for continued US engagement in Iraq.
That's my main conclusion of the reactions to the Atlantic Community's survey of European analysts.

Poll

66 votes Show Results

What's your reaction to European calls for continued US engagement in Iraq

66 votes Vote Now!

What's your reaction to European calls for continued US engagement in Iraq

Europeans are right. We broke Iraq, now we have to fix it.

12 votes

Europe has every reason to be scared about the mess we leave behind after the withdrawal: Refugees, Terrorism, powerful Iran etc are security risks for Europe

18 votes

Europeans should shut up, because it is not their sons and daughters, who are getting killed in Iraq

6 votes

Europe should get of their asses to help the US in Iraq

8 votes

Who cares what Europeans want?

3 votes

I understand the European concerns, but we still have to Iraq because we cannot stabilize the country

6 votes

A US withdrawal from Iraq will be good for Europe

13 votes

European Pundits Want America to Stay in Iraq

Berlin Bear

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday September 25, 2007 · 11:24 AM PDT

2007/09/25 · 11:24

The Atlantic Community Think Tank in Germany interviewed 14 European policy analysts from 10 different countries regarding the US debate on Iraq and arrived at some compelling conclusions:

European analysts largely support sustained US military involvement in Iraq. A sudden withdrawal or public announcement of a timetable was considered dangerous by a majority of those questioned.

Berlin Bear

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday August 29, 2007 · 5:31 AM PDT

2007/08/29 · 05:31

The Atlantic Community Think Tank in Germany presents a comparative overview of the most discussed strategies for Iraq.

Poll

18 votes Show Results

What's the best plan for Iraq?

18 votes Vote Now!

What's the best plan for Iraq?

Iraq Study Group Withdrawal

4 votes

White House Surge

1 vote

O'Hanlon Soft Partition

3 votes

Conetta Multilateralism

1 vote

Byman Containment

1 vote

Edwards Withdrawal

8 votes

Will Brown's Dinner With Merkel Leave Bush Hungry?

Berlin Bear

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday July 17, 2007 · 12:41 AM PDT

2007/07/17 · 00:41

Traditionally, the British prime minister's first foreign visit is to Washington, but Gordon Brown chose dinner with Angela Merkel instead. Is this the beginning of the end of the special relationship between the UK and the US?

Besides, Douglas Alexander, secretary of state for international development and Gordon Brown's "Mini-Me," gave a controversial speech in Washington DC on Thursday. He was talking about forming "new alliances" to fight global poverty. He expressed his preference of a "rules-based international system" and of multilateralism over unilateralism. This was interpreted as "coded criticism" of the Bush administration.

Berlin Bear

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 22, 2006 · 8:52 AM PST

2006/11/22 · 08:52

Many Germans and other Europeans believe that the United States will ask their allies to contribute more to Iraq and Afghanistan, as I have explained in German Reactions to the US Midterm Elections.

Europeans find it harder to say "No!" to the new Congress controlled by the Democrats than to the Bush administration.

Berlin Bear

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday November 10, 2006 · 4:54 PM PST

2006/11/10 · 16:54

One of the most outspoken reactions and quoted in many papers and blogs is "We are relieved that we now see the beginning of the end of a six-year nightmare for the world. The Bush administration is seriously weakened by this Democrat election victory." Martin Schulz, a German member of the European Parliament, made that statement as president of the 201 members strong Socialist Group in the EP. Read More

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"Support our Troops" - Now Available in Germany

Europeans Are "a Pack of Pagan Losers"

Obama Does Not Have International Friends

Myanmar Needs Local Action and Aid on a Global Scale

Transatlantic Relations Will Not Improve with a Democrat in the White House

An International Study Group for Afghanistan

Blogosphere to Europe: No Free Rides on US Blood

European Pundits Want America to Stay in Iraq

Iraq: Who's Got the Best Plan?

Will Brown's Dinner With Merkel Leave Bush Hungry?

What do you expect from Germany and other European countries?

German Reactions to the Midterm Elections