JRL NEWSWATCH: “Germany Braces for Decades of Confrontation With Russia” – New York Times

“Leaders are sounding alarms about growing threats, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz is wary of pushing the Kremlin, and his own ambivalent public, too far.”

“Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has begun warning Germans that they should prepare for decades of confrontation with Russia … that they must speedily rebuild the country’s military in case … Putin does not plan to stop at … Ukraine. Russia’s military, he has said …, is fully occupied with Ukraine. But if there is a truce, and [] Putin, Russia’s president, has a few years to reset, he thinks [Putin] will consider testing NATO’s unity. … Polls show that Germans want to see a more capable German military. But only 38 percent … said they wanted their country to be more involved in international crises, the lowest figure since … 2017 …. Of that group, 76 percent said the engagement should be primarily diplomatic, and 71 percent were against a military leadership role for Germany in Europe. German military officials recently set off a small outcry when they suggested that the country must be ‘kriegstüchtig,’ which roughly translates to the ability to fight and win a war. …”

Click here for: “Germany Braces for Decades of Confrontation With Russia; Leaders are sounding alarms about growing threats, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz is wary of pushing the Kremlin, and his own ambivalent public, too far.” – New York Times: Steven Erlanger, David E. Sanger