US Secretary of Defense doubts Germany’s reliability as an ally; US, Europeans, Ukrainians frustrated by Germany’s refusal to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks; Germany’s Scholz reluctant to commit, leading to “scholzing” becoming a verb.
The US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently raised the question of whether Germany is still a reliable ally. This was in response to Germany’s refusal to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks, which are made in Germany and used by the armies of more than a dozen Western countries. This refusal has caused frustration, perplexity, and anger among the Ukrainians, Poles, Estonians, Lithuanians, Latvians, and other allies.
The refusal has also been met with criticism from within Germany’s own government. The US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reportedly read the Germans “the riot act” in a phone call, and Secretary of Defense Austin had a long and tense confrontation with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s chief of staff, Wolfgang Schmidt.
Scholz has been using the bromide that Germany must never act unilaterally but can only help Ukraine in coordination with allies. This has become a joke, since those very allies keep begging Germany to act. In reality, Scholz has been using this bromide to justify Germany forever being a follower instead of a leader. He has also been using the cliche that he is only being “prudent” to rationalize hiding behind the Americans.
Scholz’s stubborn refusal to make a decision on supplying Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks has left Germany increasingly isolated in the Western alliance. His style and approach has been mocked as “scholzing” – communicating good intentions, only to use/find/invent any reason imaginable to delay these and/or prevent them.
The US and other allies have made clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russian nukes would not be tolerated and would result in his assured demise. This makes it unlikely that Putin will escalate to chemical, biological or even nuclear warfare. The way to deter a bully like Putin is to show strength, not fear. It is unclear why the Germans should worry more about this remote scenario than, say, the Ukrainians, who’d be Putin’s target.
The US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s strained endorsement of Germany as a reliable ally has raised serious questions about the reliability of the German government. Scholz’s refusal to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks has caused frustration and anger among allies, and has resulted in Germany becoming increasingly isolated in the Western alliance. This has also resulted in Scholz’s style and approach being mocked as “scholzing”. In order to deter a bully like Putin, it is important to show strength and not fear. It is unclear why the Germans should worry more about this remote scenario than the Ukrainians.
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