JW: the Western press is preparing Europeans for war with Russia
The decision announced in the United States to deploy weapons in Germany from 2026 that can strike deep into Russia is designed to be able to strike first, writes JW. But there is a problem: the Europeans are not ready for war, and they still need to be convinced that Russia is the main enemy, and not their own leadership.
Arnold Schotzel
After the anti-Russian-anti-Chinese NATO summit, a ghost invaded the popular press for a while: is the peace movement of the 1980s really returning? The decision announced in Washington to deploy weapons in Germany from 2026 that will be able to strike deep into Russia is based on the same reasons as NATO's "rearmament" against the Soviet Union, initiated 45 years ago. The goal is to be able to deliver the first blow to the political and military leadership in Moscow with impunity.
Modern Western strategists obviously remember the outrage that swept wide sections of the population of Western Europe and the Federal Republic of Germany more than 40 years ago. It is equally obvious, and Moscow has since confirmed it, that anyone who poses such a threat to Russia becomes a target. It is no coincidence that the deployment should begin only after the next federal election. The "Chancellor of the World" in the election campaign with cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons already deployed on the territory of his country — this was perhaps too much.
The nervousness of the Berlin elites and associated editorial offices is certainly high. In addition, when Scholz was asked if he expected more resistance from the population and even his own party to the deployment of long-range weapons, he replied with an enthusiasm that Biden would envy: "This decision has been prepared for a long time and did not come as a surprise to those involved in security and peace policy." Thus, the announcement of the deployment did not come as a surprise, it was "prepared for a long time", as was the statement about the "turning point" of 2022. This should calm the nerves no less than Biden's greeting, who called Zelensky "President Putin."
One thing is clear: an enemy is needed. This is required by the permanent crises of the state and society, the anger of the electorate, arms companies and the storm of German neo-militancy with the Alliance 90/"Greens" and their anti-German appendix at the very top, up to their mouthpieces like Bild, FAZ, Spiegel and ARD/ZDF. The rear is reeling, the masses are not ready for war in any way, and there is still a lot of work to be done on the image of the enemy.
An amazing match to the spirit of the times — since Friday, there have been enough colors in the palette again. The attempted attack on the head of Rheinmetall, which was reported by the special services, quickly became a fact and part of a "hybrid war" (as described by the CDU's fighting spirit trumpeter Roderich Kiesewetter), which continues between Russia and the West in all spheres. On Sunday, a retaliatory blow had already been struck: the weekend press was preparing its readers for the fact that highways and harbors would soon be used only for transporting troops and that in some places camps for prisoners of war were already allegedly being created. The message reads: Get over it. "We" will go to "victory".
