Russian aggression and US isolationism push a once hesitant Germany to invest heavily in defence.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27602242

Germany’s military, the Bundeswehr, recently got the all-clear for a massive increase in investment after parliament voted to exempt defence spending from strict rules on debt.

The country’s top general has told the BBC the cash boost is urgently needed because he believes Russian aggression won’t stop at Ukraine.

“We are threatened by Russia. We are threatened by Putin. We have to do whatever is needed to deter that,” Gen Carsten Breuer says. He warns that Nato should be braced for a possible attack in as little as four years.

“It’s not about how much time I need, it’s much more about how much time Putin gives us to be prepared,” the defence chief says bluntly. “And the sooner we are prepared the better.”

  • FireRetardant@lemmy.worldEnglish
    172·
    3 days ago

    A history of invading your neighbours is quite a bit different than wanting to defend your existing, peacefully held territory.

    • IndustryStandard@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21·
      2 days ago

      Hitler was also “defending his peacefully held territory”

      The Polish nation refused my efforts for a peaceful regulation of neighborly relations; instead it has appealed to weapons.

      Germans in Poland are persecuted with a bloody terror and are driven from their homes. The series of border violations, which are unbearable to a great power, prove that the Poles no longer are willing to respect the German frontier. In order to put an end to this frantic activity no other means is left to me now than to meet force with force.

      Long live our people and our Reich!

      Berlin, Sept. 1, 1939. Adolf Hitler

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      103·
      3 days ago

      True, thus why the headline is unfortunate to the point of looking like satire despite the content of the article being mostly uncontroversial.

      AfD not withstanding, today’s Germany is EXTREMELY different from Nazi Germany and everyone reasonable would agree, but it’s still the first thing that pops into your head when someone says “German military history” 🤷

      • IndustryStandard@lemmy.worldEnglish
        12·
        2 days ago

        Seeing the amount of Germans enthusiastically support Israel with weapons while it is genociding Palestinians I am not quite sure they are any different from their ancestors.

        At least Americans on Lemmy do not condone their government sending weapons to Israel. Germans are still making up excuses.

      • TXL@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        21·
        3 days ago

        Well it’s too late to start a world war this time, since Putin already beat them to it.