Watch Germany!

Watch Germany!
By Ron Fraser

September 7, 2009

September is jam-packed with events of significance to observers of Germany’s rise to global power.

A week ago, both candidates for the chancellorship, incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, received a shock. The largely state-controlled media had been singing a song of praise to Merkel, claiming that she was a shoo-in for regaining the chancellorship following the upcoming September 27 federal elections. But last weekend, both candidates lost support following state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Saar. All polled increases in the vote for minority parties, with Merkel’s Christian Democrats and Steinmeier’s Social Democrats losing support in the process.

On Tuesday, Time commented (emphasis mine),

Now German politics is no longer dominated by the two big parties—the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats—with the kind of stable two-party coalitions that were typical of West Germany. The political game is much more open, with at least five parties vying for power and reflecting the much broader spectrum of political opinion in the population. This seemingly unstable coalition system is the new normal. … According to opinion polls, Chancellor Angela Merkel seemed to be coasting to victory in September—but now the race seems more uncertain than ever. Her cdu party lost its absolute majority in Thuringia and Saar and may lose power altogether to three-party left-leaning coalitions in those states. In Saxony, the cdu and fdp [Free Democratic Party] govern together and were reelected—but for the first time in a German state parliament, a neo-Nazi party, the npd, kept its seats.

With the September 27 federal election now wide open, the left-wing daily Tageszeitung observed, “The only thing that is certain is that nothing is certain” (August 31).

For some time the Trumpet has been monitoring the run-up to this important German election. We have done so fully expecting a result at odds with the predictions of the pundits, who had confidently said Angela Merkel would win in a trot. All of a sudden, barely a month away from the election, the whole complexion of the scenario is changing. This German election could turn on a dime.

That one or more of the larger parties must figure in a coalition government is a given. Yet which one of the major parties will be the one casting around to cobble together Germany’s next governing coalition is anyone’s guess at this juncture, just as much as is the question of which minority parties will be included.

There’s no doubt that the global financial crisis will have significant influence on how people vote. Yet two burning issues could weigh heavily on the outcome, should certain influential German elites play their cards right.

To read current German politics, one must read European energy politics.

To read Germany’s longer-term political vision, one must read the history of Imperial Germany.

Dealing with the question of energy politics, one must ask, why are ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his ex-foreign minister, Joshka Fischer, embedded as senior executives in major Russian gas pipeline projects? There’s more to this than meets the eye.

Schröder and Fischer are part of a veritable rogues gallery of German leaders who carry significant behind-the-scenes influence on German elites, in particular within the institutions that are most influential in the German bureaucracy, banking and big business.

Schröder, Fischer, the current German foreign minister, Steinmeier, and his party deputy, Franz Muntefering, all form a formidable force behind the scenes in German politics. This is more so the case when one considers that they each have a cozy relationship with Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, with whom Chancellor Merkel has been particularly at odds during her term as Germany’s leader.

These four form a powerful cabal of resistance to Chancellor Merkel in her drive to retain the leadership in Germany. Given the right publicity, if Steinmeier chooses to play the energy card in a manner that convinces the public that his connections would more strongly mitigate any further threat of a winter freeze due to Russia turning off the gas tap to Europe—as has happened thrice in the past—he could quickly make up for his present lagging poll ratings.

Both Steinmeier and Putin hail from their respective nations’ spy networks, Steinmeier having headed Germany’s BND for the Schröder government and Putin being an ex-KGB agent. Steinmeier’s clandestine connections give him powerful unseen political clout of a nature not possessed by Chancellor Merkel. Polls notwithstanding, the uncharismatic Steinmeier may still give his boss a good challenge should he elect to press the right energy buttons.

But it is in considering the question of Germany’s long-term vision that we depart from most observers of the present political scene in Germany. Here we have to look to the German elites who have held this vision for generations, and passed it on through the gentlemen’s club of the German/Austrian hierarchy. These individuals have sought by various means over the past century—primarily financial, trade and the economy, then ultimately by military force—to bring their dream of European hegemony, if not global dominance, into being.

Recently our representatives in the United Kingdom interviewed Edward Spalton, chairman of the Euroskeptic group Campaign for an Independent Britain. Mr. Spalton is one of a number of Euroskeptics with whom we have had an association over the years. He and other Euroskeptic activists such as Rodney Atkinson, the late Norris McWhirter, Adrian Hilton and Britain’s oldest active member of the Conservative Party, Harry Beckough, have been deeply concerned at the political road being taken by Germany.

In response to the question, “Is Germany’s increasing assertiveness in dominating EU politics a result of deliberate intent or happenstance?”, Mr. Spalton responded:

Well, I think you only need to consult General De Gaulle on that, because when he met Dr. Hallstein, who was the first president of the EU Commission, he said, “If Dr. Hallstein is a sincere European, it is because he is first and foremost an ambitious German.” And then he went on to elaborate how through the EU, Germany would first of all rehabilitate itself in the eyes of other European countries, would gather together a constellation of other European powers who would assist Germany in regaining its unity. And indeed, that has come to pass.

And it has come to pass exactly as that wily old German politician of another generation, the Bavarian Franz Joseph Strauss, outlined it should in his book The Grand Design.

Elaborating on the long-term imperial vision that has dominated German politics over the past two centuries, Edward Spalton continued:

We have to remember that the idea of a common market, a customs union, was actually the way that Germany itself came into being, and as long ago as the 1830s and ’40s when Germany was still divided up into a large number of small states, there were economists and politicians who were clamoring to remove the customs barriers between the grand duchy of this and the elector of that so that the German economy could develop. … So, they did see the development of the common market, the EEC, very much in the same way as the history of the development of Germany itself as a political entity.

This is history of which the general public in the Anglo-Saxon nations remains largely ignorant and certainly quite disinterested, most particularly in the U.S. Yet it is a history that is about to slam the Anglo-Saxons smack in the face. A very few of the most astute observers of Germany see it, and given the history, fear the outcome of the political, economic and military direction that Germany is increasingly and assertively taking. But few there be indeed who can see the clear vision of biblical revelation which declares that the nation of Germany is rapidly returning to head up a final resurrection of the “Holy” Roman Empire.

Current German politics are leading very directly to that outcome, believe it or not!

You need to watch Germany. Most particularly you need to watch Germany over the next two months. A concentration of high-powered events that will convene in September may well consummate by the end of October in the consolidation of Germanic power at the head of the greatest single trading and political entity in the world.

To follow this trend, watch the outcome of each of the following events:

September

2: EU finance ministers meet in Brussels with central bankers to firm up a unified proposal for global regulation in preparation for mounting a solid unity bloc at G-2O summit.

4: EU foreign ministers meet in Strasbourg to discuss common defense and security policy and EU military involvement globally.

4-5: G-20 finance ministers and central bankers meet in London to discuss the global economic and financial crisis.

8: The Lisbon Treaty bill gets its second reading in the Bundestag.

15: The UN General Assembly meets under President Obama as rotating president of the Security Council for this month—to consider Middle East peace process.

17: The EU convenes an “extraordinary” heads of state meeting in Brussels to establish a unified position to address the upcoming G-20 summit.

18: The Bundesrat is scheduled to approve the Lisbon Treaty.

24-25: The G-20 holds a summit in Pittsburgh.

27: Germany holds federal elections.

October

2: Ireland votes on the Lisbon Treaty.

29-30: The EU Council meets to choose who will fill the two new and most senior posts in the EU, created by the Lisbon Treaty: minister of foreign affairs and president of the European Union.

To prepare you to understand the outcome of each of these events, how they impact on each other and what this all means for the future, read the current edition of the Trumpet magazine together with our booklet Daniel Unlocks Revelation. They will give you a perspective on events developing in Europe that will soon impact every nation on Earth!

But they will give you even more than that. They will give you a vision of real hope—not the sham, false hope promised by today’s political leaders, but what your Bible calls the “more sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19). That is real and sure hope in the future ahead! •

Ron Fraser’s column appears every Monday.
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Previous columns by this author:

• Who’s Sorry Now?
• America the Corrupt
• Germany—Military Empowerment by Stealth

The Russo-German Plan to Dismantle NATO

The Russo-German Plan to Dismantle NATO
October 16, 2008
From theTrumpet.com
Growing cooperation between Moscow and Berlin is undermining the influence and credibility of arguably the most important security organization in modern history.

Brad Macdonald
Within days of Russia’s invasion of Georgia in early August, our editor in chief, Gerald Flurry, told students at Herbert W. Armstrong College that he believed Moscow had struck a deal with Germany over Georgia before it attacked. After delivering that message to the students, Mr. Flurry wrote in the October issue of the Trumpet, “I believe Germany may well have been complicit in Russia’s plan to attack Georgia!”

That analysis was bold and unique. At the time, there were no media reports suggesting behind-the-scenes dealings between Moscow and Berlin. Since then, however, a pile of evidence has emerged (read this, for example) pointing to a growing cooperation between Russia and Germany.

Some of the strongest evidence of a growing Russo-German partnership came earlier this month. On October 2, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in St. Petersburg. Among other topics, the two leaders discussed Germany’s position on NATO, particularly the American-led efforts to welcome Ukraine and Georgia into the ailing organization. Speaking at a press conference after the meetings, Chancellor Merkel left little doubt as to where Germany’s allegiance lies. She told reporters that the German government patently objects to NATO membership for both counties—and even opposes placing either Georgia or Ukraine on the path to membership.

This announcement was not insignificant, for NATO or for America. Since NATO operates on consensus, and any member nation can effectively block potential candidates from membership, Merkel’s rejection severely undermines NATO plans to expand. It also undermines America’s geopolitical strength, which is often manifested through that organization.

But Germany and Russia’s crafty assault on NATO and America didn’t end there. During the meetings, the topic most intensely discussed was the idea of a “new collective security agreement between Europe and Russia, dubbed Helsinki II” (Stratfor, October 2). That’s important: Europe’s largest and most influential nation is not only backing Kremlin efforts to undermine the premier Western security alliance, it is actively seeking to form a new strategic alliance with the Russians!

The new geopolitical reality is that Germany fears Russia more than it fears the United States!

The timing of a Helsinki II agreement is beyond coincidental. Stratfor continued (emphasis mine throughout):

The so-called Helsinki II pact would echo the Helsinki agreement in 1975 that entailed closer relations between Europe and the Soviet Union. The agreement emerged at a time when the United States appeared weak after being tied down in Vietnam, and European politicians were experimenting with “ostpolitic,” a tactic of seeking rapport with the Soviets.

As was the case with the first Helskinki agreement, America’s geopolitical impotence lies at the foundation of German (and eventually European) efforts to form a new strategic partnership with Russia!

Germany’s decision to reject American interests and side with Russia on the nato issue is of “great significance,” wrote Stratfor founder George Friedman last week. Merkel, remember, is the most pro-American politician in Germany and the most pro-American German chancellor in nearly 20 years. Moreover, as Friedman noted, as an East German she has an inherent unease about Russia. Yet, despite all this, she still chose Russia over the United States.

Why?

The first reason is simple. Germany relies heavily on Russian energy, and with the cold months approaching, it would be foolish to irritate a key energy supplier.

But there was more to Germany’s decision than gas. Friedman observed, “Germany views the U.S. obsession with NATO expansion as simply not in Germany’s interests” (October 6). He continued:

First, expanding NATO guarantees to Ukraine and Georgia is meaningless. NATO and the United States don’t have the military means to protect Ukraine or Georgia, and incorporating them into the alliance would not increase European security. From a military standpoint, NATO membership for the two former Soviet republics is an empty gesture, while from a political standpoint, Berlin sees it as designed to irritate the Russians for no clear purpose.

Next, were NATO prepared to protect Ukraine and Georgia, all NATO countries including Germany would be forced to increase defense expenditures substantially. This is not something that Germany and the rest of NATO want to do.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Germany spent 1945 to 1992 being the potential prime battleground of the Cold War. It spent 1992 to 2008 not being the potential prime battleground. Germany prefers the latter, and it does not intend to be drawn into a new Cold War under any circumstances. This has profound implications for the future of both NATO and U.S.-German
relations.

What does all this mean?

It means Germany is in the midst of a “strategic crisis in which it must make some fundamental decisions” (ibid.). The Germans are right now deciding their future. Should they remain an ally of the U.S.? This would mean maintaining their support for America’s foreign-policy objectives, which include expanding NATO and increasing the alliance’s military presence on Russia’s doorstep—a move that would assuredly infuriate the Russians.

Germany’s other option is to realign itself with the newly resurgent Moscow. This option is infinitely more appealing right now, because while upsetting America is not ideal, it comes with far fewer risks than upsetting the feisty behemoth next door.

Friedman continued,

If Germany were to join those who call for NATO expansion, the first step toward a confrontation with Russia would have been taken. The second step would be guaranteeing the security of the Baltics and Poland. America would make the speeches, and Germans would man the line. After spending most of the last century fighting or preparing to fight the Russians, the Germans looked around at the condition of their allies and opted out.

The Germans saw what happened in Georgia in September. They know that Russia is in the mood for confrontation. They recognize that now is a time to cajole the Kremlin, not confront it. And they know that any benefit that might come from maintaining the support of America will be far outweighed by the repercussions that would come from annoying the Russians.

“Everything in German history has led to this moment,” Friedman concluded. “The country is united and wants to be secure. It will not play the role it was forced into during the Cold War, nor will it play geopolitical poker as it did in the First and Second World Wars. And that means NATO is permanently and profoundly broken.”

Think about that. This respected analyst recognizes that a growing Russian-German relationship signifies that NATO—arguably the defining security organization in modern history, and a key geopolitical instrument of the United States—is now permanently and profoundly broken.

For years the Trumpet has forecast the demise of nato as an influential American-led organization.

When Russia invaded Georgia on September 8, NATO’s demise grew nearer. Since then, the steady flow of evidence pointing toward an improving Russo-German relationship, which is largely founded on an anti-NATO platform, indicates that NATO’s demise is inevitable.

Russia and Germany are cunningly undermining and systematically dismantling NATO!

The demise of this American-led security alliance, the rise of a resurgent Russia, the newly forming European superpower, and the imminent emergence of a new Russo-German pact all are evidence that a major shifting of geopolitical tectonic plates is currently under way. The Trumpet stands by its warnings of recent weeks: Watch Russia and Germany closely!

History shows that the formation of a strategic pact between Russia and Germany—which these two nations are forming right now—is a precursor to war!

For more information, read Mr. Flurry’s article “Russia’s Attack Signals Dangerous New Era.” •

Berlin's Secret Pact With Moscow

Stephen FlurryColumnist

Berlin’s Secret Pact With Moscow

August 22, 2008 | From theTrumpet.com

What it means for the United States and the rest of the world.

Stephen Flurry

In a speech given on Monday to students at Herbert W. Armstrong College, editor in chief Gerald Flurry said that Russia’s attack on Georgia earlier this month signaled the beginning of a dangerous new era in history. As columnist Robert Kagan put it, “Historians will come to view Aug. 8, 2008, as a turning point no less significant than Nov. 9, 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell. Russia’s attack on sovereign Georgian territory marked the official return of history, indeed to an almost 19th-century style of great-power competition, complete with virulent nationalisms, battles for resources, struggles over spheres of influence and territory, and even—though it shocks our 21st-century sensibilities—the use of military power to obtain geopolitical objectives.”

To counterbalance the revival of Russia’s imperialistic aims, as we have been warning over the past two weeks, look for the German-led European Union to rapidly accelerate its drive toward militaristic unity! And as we have been saying for years, this resurgence of both power blocs—called the king of the north and the kings of the east in Bible prophecy—will result in a non-aggression pact between Germany and Russia modeled after the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement.

This has been the lesson of history. As my father told HWAC students during his lecture, every time competition intensifies between Russia and Germany, the two historic foes form an alliance with one another. But they don’t last long. The strategic agreements are made just before the outbreak of full-scale war!

Where We Are Headed

Basing his projection on the sure word of Bible prophecy, 47 years ago, Herbert W. Armstrong said that Russia would one day frighten Germany and the rest of Europe to “lose confidence” in America’s ability to protect them from the Russian bear (co-worker letter, Oct. 23, 1961). This, he said, would result in two things: hastening the development of European unification and the establishment of a non-aggression pact between Germany and Russia.

Mr. Armstrong’s flagship publication, the Plain Truth, offered this analysis in May 1962: “When a Russo-German deal is made, you can be sure that the doom of the United States and Great Britain is on the horizon. A German-Soviet agreement—a second Rapallo—would be the greatest disaster which could befall the West.”

After Mr. Armstrong’s death in 1986, the Trumpet magazine lifted his mantle and continued proclaiming his same prophetic warning. Even before Vladimir Putin grabbed hold of Russian power and revived its imperialist goals, the Trumpet declared: “Russia is back, albeit economically wounded, and swallowing its pride momentarily ….”

You would be hard-pressed to find any other news source predicting the resurgent rise of Russia in 1999, when it was entangled in civil war and wallowing in economic impoverishment. The Economist, for example, wrote on Dec. 18, 1999—on the eve of Russian parliamentary elections:

Reform of Russia’s dreadful economy—smaller now than that of the Netherlands—has, for instance, barely been mentioned [in parliamentary debates]. … Cynicism abounds, especially about the corrupt new order that has replaced the coercively deadening old one. It is matched by dismay at the degradation into which Russia has sunk, even though most Russians—Communists included—know that a return to a Soviet-style past is unthinkable.

What a different take than what we had at theTrumpet.com! “With Russia looming again on the horizon across the Polish plain, Germany gets the jitters,” we wrote in June 1999.

Germany will never trust nato in a European adventure again. Apart from this, Germany has never, ever trusted Russia! So—revive the old Ribbentrop-Molotov pact! … We believe that a similar pact will soon be concluded between Russia and Germany.

Four years later, in August 2003, we wrote,

Russia currently faces a choice between a stronger alliance with the EU or the U.S. Putin is at a crossroads, but political and economic possibilities reveal which direction he will take. Now the strategic partnership between Russia and German-led Europe will further solidify both power blocs’ global weight. It will help propel Europe to superpower status.

Then, just last year, we posted an article under the headline, “Russo-German Pact Imminent.”

In April of this year, we wrote about the prophesied rise of both Germany and Russia. “Germany is conquering the Balkans, and Russia has its eye on Georgia,” we said four months ago. “As these powers compete against each other, watch for a new Molotov-Ribbentrop pact to emerge. It may be that dealings are already under way to conclude such an agreement.”

This week, my father made this statement to our HWAC students: “I believe it is very likely Germany and Russia have already cut a deal.” He continued,

I believe Germany may well have been complicit in Russia’s plan to attack Georgia! If Russia formed an agreement with Germany over the Georgia situation, then Russia would know the only possible other nation it would have to be concerned about is the U.S. And Russia knew that America was too weak to do anything about it!

That was Monday. On Wednesday, Stratfor filed this prophetically electrifying report about the crossroads Germany is now at in Europe:

Berlin is now reassessing its allegiances to Washington and NATO, which would keep the country locked into the policies it made as an occupied state. Or Germany could act like its own state and create its own security guarantee with Russia—something that would rip NATO apart. …

Stratfor sources in Moscow have said that Medvedev has offered Merkel a security pact for their two countries.

Stratfor has yet to confirm the report, but history and prophecy tells us everything we need to know, even if there is still some question about the timing.

What we know is this: Germany’s relationship with nato is nearing its end! As Stratfor notes, “[I]f Germany and Russia make some sort of deal, it will be open season on American influence in Europe.” An independent, 10-nation superpower is rising out of Europe that will soon force all American military personnel to withdraw from the Continent.

Then, the German-led Euroforce is prophesied to turn against the West, catapulting the whole Earth into a nuclear World War III— so says your Bible!

Now understand the significance of these latest prophetic developments. Over the past two centuries, every time Germany has double-crossed the West, it has first entered into a non-aggression pact with Russia in order to shore up its defenses to the east.

What this means, as my father told our students on Monday, is that the secret non-aggression pact between Germany and Russia—a deal that may already be in place—is not a sign of peace.

It is a precursor to war!

(Gerald Flurry’s August 18 speech will be excerpted in the October print version of the Trumpet. For a free subscription to the magazine, go here.) •

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