by Oui
Fri Aug 12th, 2022 at 11:07:39 AM EST
Amazing to be part of Biden's New American Century or Pax Americana. Just waiting for the moment US Congress turns from Blue to Red this fall. Biden didn't change a number of foreign policy initiatives started by the former president.
East-West Schism: Destruction Process Inside Europe
Old wine 🍷 in new bottles ... what a disaster Ampelkoalition is.
Nachrichten zum thema Ampel-koalition
The new age military narrative of #transatlantikmoment. All I can think of is Nazi Germany and it's defense on North Sea, English Channel and Atlantic Coast ... the Verteidigung des Atlantikwalls in Europa.
As a child I played in the dunes and these bunkers of which many were located nearby with the munition bunkers on the east side of the dunes. Some were blown up by dynamite where possible, the last ones were buried deep underground by removing sand underneath.
There was only a small pathway fenced off to reach the beach as the dunes were mined. There were occasions the sea mines washed up on the beach where we enjoyed the sunny summer days. My parent's home and business was located in close proximity later designated as Sperrgebiet or restricted zone. All buildings were to be demolished.
German invasion of the Netherlands
History of the Atlantic Wall
If you are walking or cycling in the dunes, you will surely come across them sooner or later: German bunkers from the Second World War. Not everyone knows they are the visible remnants of the "Atlantic Wall," a 5,200-kilometer line of defenses that stretched from Norway to southern France.
The construction of the New West Wall, later renamed the Atlantic Wall for propaganda reasons, progressed slowly at first. Only after 1942 did the fear of an Allied invasion become so great that all available forces were used to fortify the coast. The Netherlands soon felt the consequences of this decision. In April 1942, the beach and dunes along the entire coast were declared a restricted area. From July 1, 1942, there was a general building ban because a large part of the building capacity was to be available for the Atlantic Wall. The original plans called for 15,000 bunkers on the Dutch, Belgian and French coasts. However, due to a lack of manpower, material and fuel, only 6,000 bunkers had been completed on the planned completion day, May 1, 1943; in the Netherlands it was 510 out of 2,000.
Structure of the Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall consisted of a series of individual, independent bases of different sizes, which had to be defended on all sides and which could give each other fire support. In many cases, they consisted of bunkers - some with reinforced concrete walls and ceilings two meters thick. Depending on their importance and size, the fortifications were called a nest of resistance, a base, a group of bases, a defense area or a fortress. Nests of resistance are the smallest fortifications, fortresses - ports and port approaches - the largest. There were four defense areas in the Netherlands: Den Helder, IJmuiden, Hoek van Holland and Vlissingen. In 1944 Hoek van Holland and IJmuiden were given fortress status.
Of course I was very interested in the new narrative and the wisdom of Germany's new foreign minister Annalena Baerbock ...
The German Marshall Fund marks its 50th anniversary and the 75th anniversary of the Marshall Plan
Thinking Big
Thinking Big: Transatlantic Trade and Technology after Ukraine
For the past year, the transatlantic conversation on trade and technology has focused primarily on smoothing over areas of tension in the relationship rather than building a collective vision for 21st-century cooperation between the United States and Europe.
But after setting aside their disputes on commercial airplane subsidies, steel and aluminum tariffs, and data flows, it is now time for Washington and Brussels to think bigger.
Russia's brutal war in Ukraine has underscored just how important the transatlantic relationship remains in a world where authoritarian countries are flexing their military muscle, using economic coercion, and spreading false narratives at home and abroad through disinformation.
But one should not underestimate the risk of old transatlantic cracks re-emerging if the United States and Europe do not seize this moment and hammer out a longer-term agenda, based on common values and the spirit of free and fair competition, that binds their vast economies and markets together.
"In a world where economies of scale are
shrinking as decades of unfettered trade and
investment come to an end and geopolitical
tensions rise, creating the geographic scope
and scale to do business will be vital."
Companies that have put too many eggs in the China basket are now reassessing their global footprint. German carmaker Volkswagen recently announced plans to more than double its market share in the United States to 10 percent by 2030. But firms that are pivoting away from China will need assurances that they will not bump up against "Made in America" or "European strategic autonomy" hurdles that favor domestic producers at the expense of those from allied nations.
A prime example is in the area of green technologies. As countries turn away from Russian fossil fuels and invest heavily in renewables, there is a risk that their dependencies on China will rise. In wind, solar, and electric batteries, China is a dominant player in key parts of the value chain. This will force hard questions in Europe and the United States about how to reconcile decarbonization goals with the push for supply-chain security. Only through the development of a truly transatlantic market--with formal and informal barriers to trade stripped away--can this transition be navigated responsibly.
"Reviving talks on a transatlantic free trade
agreement, as some European officials have
called for, is not the answer. The political
hurdles are simply too high on both sides of
the Atlantic."
Another crucial area is export controls, where the Russia crisis has demonstrated just how closely the United States and Europe can work together when pushed to do so. Members of the TTC working group on export controls have driven coordination on the sanctions against Moscow. This has created a degree of trust that might have taken many years to build had there been no war.
Thus the elder Cold Warrior figured a new Cold War needed a strong Atlantic Alliance that needed to cut out Russia and ultimately China from the Western economy, ending the very profitable globalization. If war is needed to bring the necessary chaos, so be it.
Joe Biden using the strategy of the pressure cooker, you are either with us, or the enemy. The reasoning of many earlier presidents of the United States.
America Uses Sanctions On Russia as a Weapon of War ...
The June deal with Angela Merkel wasn't worth a nickel as far as Biden was concerned ...
America Fills Void Left by Merkel
She's Green. She's Young. And She Wants to Change Germany | NY Times - Sept. 7, 2021 |
Just how much change Germans really want after 16 years of Ms. Merkel remains to be seen. The chancellor made herself indispensable by navigating innumerable crises -- financial, migrant, populist and pandemic -- and solidifying Germany's leadership on the continent. Other candidates are competing to see who can be most like her.
Ms. Baerbock, by contrast, aims to shake up the status quo. She is challenging Germans to deal with the crises that Ms. Merkel has left largely unattended: decarbonizing the powerful automobile sector; weaning the country off coal; rethinking trade relationships with strategic competitors like China and Russia.
Green Party Ambitions
Era of the Trump administration with Mike Pompeo
Transatlantic relations in times of uncertainty: crises and EU-US relations | Oct. 8, 2018 |
Ties between the US and the EU rival those between any other pair of international actors. This Special Issue makes conceptual progress and empirical contributions in accounting for if and how EU-US relations have been impacted by a context of multiple crises and a parallel change in US policies. All the articles find strong evidence to suggest that EU-US relations are weakening. This is partly a consequence of the EU's own, internal policies, as it becomes more unified and autonomous of the US in some areas, while fragmenting in others. Most importantly, it is a consequence of the two actors' increasingly diverging perspectives and positions on international issues, institutions, norms and indeed the value of the transatlantic relationship as such. Although the long-term effects remain to be seen, it is likely that the cracks in the foundation of transatlantic relations will continue into the present and foreseeable future.
A stronger transatlantic relationship for the stability of the Middle East and North Africa Biden and Draghi Atlantic Council June 2022
A new transatlantic relationship for the Middle East and North Africa [ Video]
Opening the discussion, Weschler emphasized the necessity of transatlantic cooperation in creating sustained policy change in North Africa, presenting a strong counterargument to the perception that the US has vacated the region. Salleo contextualized North Africa at-large, emphasizing the impact of the Ukrainian conflict on the economies of both Europe and North Africa. Smitham contended that these challenges can be addressed by greater US-Italian partnership in the region, which has grown stronger in the past year under the Italian presidency of the G20 and bilateral meetings between President Biden and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Remarks from Keynote Speaker Yael Lempert, representing the Abraham Accords
In her keynote speech, Yael Lempert, acting deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, addressed widespread misconceptions of US withdrawal from North Africa and the Middle East (MENA), affirming that the Biden administration has focused on affirmative engagement in the region. Through this initiative, the US is empowering North African nations to decide with whom and when they cooperate on issues. Lempert made clear that regional stability is in the best interest of nations across the globe, and that the US will continue to have a newly defined presence in North Africa that highlights the region's human potential.
According to Lempert, the US has also been at the forefront of enacting a sustainable political vision in the MENA.
Overwhelmed by meeting with John Kerry, Green Party leader Annalena Baerbock
New coalition, an abrupt change in German foreign policy under #baerbock
Advocating a strong transatlantic partnership and friendship: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s first official visit to Washington, DC
German Official Says Berlin Unambiguously Supports 'One China' Policy: Report
A German government representative, Wolfgang Buechner, reportedly told journalists at a press conference on August 3 that Berlin does not comment on foreign trips by representatives of third countries. In regard to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan, he reportedly said that the German government unambiguously supports the One China policy.
On August 2, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned China against escalating tensions with Taiwan and expressed support for the island nation. Notably, tensions between the US and China escalated on Tuesday NIght after Pelosi, despite strong objections from Beijing, landed in Taiwan's capital, Taipei.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying’s Regular Press Conference on August 3, 2022
Germany’s Foreign Minister reportedly said at a UN meeting that if the mainland invades Taiwan, Germany will give support to Taiwan. Does the foreign ministry have any comment on this?
Hua Chunying: I assume you are referring to the remarks made by the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the Review Conference of the NPT. Her indication that China broke international law and attacked its smaller neighbor lacks basic knowledge of history and does not square with facts.
The historical ins and outs and legal facts about the Taiwan question are crystal clear. No individual or force can deny or distort them. I do not have to go far back into history to find an example. Around the end of the Second World War, the Cairo Declaration of 1943 and the Potsdam Proclamation of 1945 were very clear about China’s rights over Taiwan. “All the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, including Taiwan and Penghu Islands, shall be restored” to China. The UNGA Resolution 2758 of 1971 decided to restore all these rights to the PRC and reaffirmed the one-China principle.
The Taiwan question is China’s internal affair. Some people compare Ukraine to Taiwan in order to twist the logic and mislead public perceptions. This constitutes interference in China’s domestic affair and we will definitely not accept that.
The one-China principle is a universally recognized norm in international relations and the political foundation and fundamental prerequisite for China’s relations with other countries. Violating that principle will undermine bilateral relations. We hope Germany will have an objective and accurate understanding of the Taiwan question and be careful with getting swayed by the US. We hope Germany will keep its commitment to the one-China policy with concrete action and act prudently on Taiwan-related issues.
Bewährte Fiktion der Ein-China-Politik: Biden zünselt daran
