March 21, 2007: In some ways, the Cold War isn't
over. Take, for example, the recent story about a group of German soldiers who
are openly protesting an effort to send six German reconnaissance aircraft to
Afghanistan. The organization making the demand, the "Darmstädter
Signal," is an anti-war group. Its members are German soldiers. The group
was founded in the early 1980s, as part of the Soviet campaign to encourage
(and sometimes fund, or even run) groups in Western Europe that would protest
the introduction of American missiles into Europe, to counter the new missiles
that the Soviets were moving into Eastern Europe. The Soviets also supported
anti-nuclear weapons groups, and peace groups in general. This was part of an
old Soviet strategy of encouraging opposition to NATO measures that were not
helpful to the Soviet Union. The cruise missiles, and Pershing ballistic
missiles, were accurate enough to destroy the headquarters bunkers for Soviet
officers and politicians. This was definitely not in the interests of the
potential victims. However, this strategy, of trying to disrupt enemy military
operations via support of dissident groups, is actually an ancient one.
The "Darmstädter Signal" group was
tolerated by the West German government, partly because most West German troops
were conscripts, and because no one, except a few reporters, really paid much attention to a group that
never had more than 200 members. After the Cold War ended, and Germany was
reunited, some members of the "Darmstädter Signal" kept the group
going, and it evolved into a general anti-war/globalization/the usual suspects
type organization.
The "Darmstädter Signal" has long opposed
sending German troops into combat, or peacekeeping missions that might involve
combat. The six Tornado reconnaissance aircraft being sent to Afghanistan are
to be used for seeking out Taliban. But those aircraft can also carry smart
bombs, and the "Darmstädter Signal" people believe German soldiers
might end up attacking the Taliban.
There are currently 2,700 German troops around
Kabul, and they are used mainly for patrolling peaceful areas. The presence of
the German soldiers has discouraged bad behavior. The German troops are allowed
to shoot back if attacked, but their commanders are under orders to, as much as
possible, avoid any hostile situations.
Many Germans still feel guilty about all the people
their soldiers killed during World War II, and would rather let someone else,
like the Taliban, do the dirty work in Afghanistan. Or something like that.
