Germany is headed in the same repressive direction as France and the US, and ostensibly for the same purpose: to battle terrorism. Unfortunately, the terrorism that’s the biggest concern is the kind in which governments engage. From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:
The quiet German militarization continues to escalate.
One day after Germany’s DPA broke the news that the Merkel government is considering “bringing back nationwide conscription in times of crisis”, such as situations in which the country needs to “defend NATO’s external borders”, strongly hinting at the possibility of a future war, which in turn followed this weekend’s shocking announcement that Germans should prepare to stockpile several days of food and water “in case of an attack of catastrophe” as part of the country’s revised “Civil Defense Concept, today NBC reports that “Germany Debates Putting Troops on Streets to Protect Against ISIS.”
To be sure, plans to involve soldiers in counterterrorism operations. and the suggestion troops could also be used to beef up security in public places, have proved controversial in a country only seven decades “removed from totalitarian rule that’s still grappling with guilt from the Nazi era.” However, Wolfgang Bosbach, a lawmaker from Merkel’s CDU party, dismissed an such concerns.
“During the recent terror threat in Munich the German armed forces, and also the military police, were put on alert,” he told NBC News. “They have been deployed in other crises, so why should the military not help with domestic security as well?”
German soldiers after taking part in a drill on June 29
A court decision in 2012 allowed Germany’s armed forces to be deployed at home for peacetime missions under an “extraordinary emergency situation of catastrophic dimension.”
While “Bundeswehr” solders have since helped during flooding as well as providing logistical support during the migrant crisis, deploying troops in peacetime among the broader population is sure to lead to far broader populist concerns.
While some politicians suggested the influx of migrants and refugees had created security risks and called for tighter border controls, others warned against overreacting. Boris Pistorius, the justice minister in the state of Lower Saxony, told Die Welt newspaper that the three incidents in a week span “should clearly be distinguished” and that he would refrain from describing “the series of very different attacks as a wave of violence.”
He added: “We are not there yet.”
But Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere stated that Germans are “living in difficult times” and that police forces are already “overstretched.”
Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen recently announced that the German military would conduct counterterrorism training with police later this year. “There are scenarios we couldn’t imagine before the attacks of Paris or Brussels but that we must address openly and for which we must prepare,” she said.
To continue reading: Germany Debates Putting “Troops On Streets” To Protect Against Terrorism
We can only hope for a bumper crop of popcorn this year.