‘If Putin attacks, we need to be able to wage war,’ German Defense Minister says

https://kyivindependent.com/if-putin-attacks-we-need-to-be-able-to-wage-war-german-defense-minister-says/

31 comments

  2. Note that if Putin attacks Germany, it will be because he has successfully conquered a number of countries beforehand, and now has all of their resources to use to build a stronger military. Stop Putin NOW.

  6. “If putin attacks” while he actively attacks those around you.

  8. Putin can’t attack Germany because President Musk supports the neo-Nazi party.

    Awkward.

  9. Putin is the cause of the division in most countries, especially the USA because of his disinformation war on the web.

  10. Lol “if Putin attacks” this is on a delusional level. Russia doesn’t have the resources to wage war with Europe. Even at their height of power the USSR didn’t attack and conquer Europe. History told us that conquering other nations is hard just like the US failed in Afghanistan how can Russia do better??

  11. It Putin attacks Germany it would be the end of the world as we know it.

  12. After 75 years, Germany still struggles finding a balance between fascist zealots and hippy dreamers. Oh, you mean World Peace has never actually existed and we are expected to make challenging decisions? But it’s more fun driving across Africa for 3 years to explore my soul, those Americans are supposed to do the macho suffering! This just isn’t fair that we should be expected to behave like warmongers, I believe in peace and that’s supposed to magically happen while I belittle those brutish Americans. How will we maintain our scholarly readings, superior healthcare, Gap Years, and smug superiority if we have to do the same things that Americans have to do????

  13. I am glad that they are doing this because the reality is who knows what the USA will do. Will they honor article 5 with Trump in power? Best to be safe than sorry.

    That said— I don’t think it will ever happen. At least not conventional warfare. Russia can’t defeat Ukraine with most of its military as it is right now, picking a fight with NATO would mean certain destruction and probably boots on the ground in Russia/regime change. If I were Europe I would focus primarily on hardening vital infrastructure from cyber attack (read Ted Koppel, “Lights Out”). We do not treat cyber warfare with the same response as hard military warfare— if Russia wants to attack Europe it will start with the power, water, and internet, and probably get away with a lot of successful.

    MAYBE Russia would attack Europe if it allied with China to do so. But I feel like it would be more likely a coordinated but separate attack where Russia makes a move for Poland or the Baltics at the same time China makes a play for Taiwan, to split western resources and attention. And IMO, China is an export economy, they don’t want to piss off the entire world. Maybe I’m naive.

  14. That’s generally how it works, glad you’re picking up on that. Progress.

  16. Don’t think Putin is that dumb to wage war against NATO and possibly half of the world. He knows his army isn’t enough.

    He will just create proxies and subtle chaos everywhere to mess with EU.

  17. Maybe stop buying gas from Russia and feeding their ability to wage war. Enriching your “enemy” through trade and then whining that you might have to fight them is stupid.

  18. They’ve been warned about this privately for over 15 years (closer to 20 now). Obamas’s “pivot to asia” strategy of 2011, however problematic, was a very direct message to Europe – get your shit together. Apparently it was only the pressure posed by Trump potentially winning the election that drove them to action, because their fy23 military expenditures were still only 1.3% of GDP. Can’t really help a country that doesn’t want to to help themselves.

  19. To prevent a future war is to prevent Russia from acquiring the smaller Baltic nations.

    That is the best strategy Europe got as of now.

  20. Germany was supporting Putin for years, their model of energy transformation relied on shutting down nuclear and importing cheap gas from Russia. Ex-Chancellor of Germany Schröder is in the board of Russian Gazprom and several other German politicians were involved in lobbying for co-operation with Gazprom, that would make Germany dependent on Russian gas.
    https://correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2022/10/07/gazprom-lobby-germany/?lang=en

    The energy project NS1 and NS2 literally had to be sabotaged, to make Germans realize that there’s no going back to “business as usual”.

    During the first period of invasion German leadership was reluctant to send lethal aid to Ukraine and had to be pressured into doing so. Now German Chancellor was the first to call Putin, when the prospect of peace talks appeared.

    The Germans still disallow the use of Taurus missles into Russian teritory.

    The German Chancellor just shouted at Polish President for his support of use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
    https://www.polsatnews.pl/wiadomosc/2024-12-21/olaf-scholz-mial-nakrzyczec-na-andrzeja-dude-nawet-nie-uzywacie-euro/

    What German leadership over Europe gave us?

    Bad energy transformation model, bad migration policy that gave a rise to several far-right parties throughout the Europe, bad economic policies that saw a decline of Southern European countries, strict fiscal policy that makes our economic development slower than USA and China.

    Seriously where are positives? What Germans did well these past 20 years or so. I am willing to listen. Becauae for me, anything that a German politician says is completely unreliable.

    Btw. Good luck getting your military spending up while keeping keeping strict fiscal policy.

  21. Merkel was a Russian plant or at the very least leaning Russia.

  23. If Germany and the EU would have helped Ukraine instead of waiting for the US to do everything this wouldn’t be a problem.

  27. All these so called ‘leaders’ need to fuck off with their petty disagreement over money and lines in the dirt.

    I don’t have anything against anyone in any country. I’ve never even fucking met any of them.

    I’m 33, Ive got two young boys and I’ll be fucked if either of them are going to die on foreign soul for some rich prick and his artificial authority.

    We are billions. Why do we just agree to kill each other on their whims? It’s beyond ridiculous.

  28. If there was no NATO and smaller countries lacked the ability to defend themselves, what would stop Putin from marching into all of Eastern Europe and claiming it as his own land?

  29. Putin is telling us what he will do. He isn’t ready yet, but he will do it when he is ready. We need to wage war first, and we need to do it now.

  30. Putin sounds like one of those problems that a cruise missile could solve.

  31. Maybe, just maybe adopt the tactic of giving Ukraine *everything* it needs to take Ruzzia down, then Germany wouldn’t need to wage war because a fragmented Ruzzia would be too busy fighting itself to destruction.

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