The Federal Republic has relied on others for too long when it comes to security policy.
(Photo: imago images/Eibner)
Berlin I did my military service at a time when you were almost looked at crookedly for it. It was the year of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the implosion of the Soviet Union. There was talk of the end of history, of a peace dividend.
A good 30 years later, history is back with a vengeance – and the peace dividend has become a heavy burden.
Putin’s great power fantasies from Soviet times are forcing the Bundeswehr to refocus on its core task, the defense of the country and the alliance. But it is pretty much “bare” there, as Army Inspector Alfons Mais recently admitted with remarkable frankness.
This is also due to a gutting and reorientation that has taken place in recent decades. The Bundeswehr should help defend Germany’s freedom in the Hindu Kush – thousands of kilometers away. For a long time no one could have imagined that there could be war on their own doorstep again, less than a two-hour flight from Berlin.
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However, no one wanted a powerful army to safeguard German interests in the world – as suggested by then Federal President Horst Köhler in 2010. The reference to history and Hitler’s war of extermination served as a welcome excuse to downplay Germany’s military role. Without the capabilities of allies like the USA or France, German missions like in Afghanistan or Mali would be impossible.
The move away from conscription and the fact that the Bundeswehr is usually deployed thousands of kilometers from home has also led to a gradual alienation of citizens from their army. Friendly disinterest was the most positive thing that the soldiers who risked their lives on behalf of the Bundestag from far away were met with. The endless debate about acquiring armed drones must have sounded like mockery to their ears.
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If the Bundeswehr is now to receive billions for the equipment it needs in response to Putin’s war of aggression, that sends the right signal. But money alone is not enough. It must also be firmly anchored in people’s minds that unpredictable aggressors like Putin cannot be countered with a moral attitude alone.
A return to conscription could raise awareness that defending liberty comes at a cost. Democracy must be able to defend itself, both internally and externally. Germany has relied on others for long enough.
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