O.K., I can agree that the increase of German military participation in foreign peacekeeping and reconstruction missions is a remarkable change in foreign policy. I can also understand the cautious approach to these type of missions and the tactic of feeding the German public this change in foreign policy in small, digestable bites. What the leadership in Berlin and German policy makers need to understand is that the majority of the German public is not stupid and realize what is going on (with the government's manouvering and tactics on global and regional crises) and the same is true for much of the voting public in the U.S.A.

I feel that it is important to point out that ANY positive contribution that is made by a government toward the large amount of international crises and problems that we all face today is very much appreciated. I think that many Americans are of the opinion that a country like Germany can and should do more in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, various hotspots in Africa and Asia, and so forth. Americans are tired of shouldering much of the load in conflicts and crises around the world and want to see our "friends, allies, and partner countries" do more to help stop the violence, rebuild war-torn societies, and help find solutions to the kinds of problems that lead to these conflicts and threats that we all face. The days are gone when capable societies and governments can just sit back and watch or make small gestures and offer lots of rhetoric when the house is on fire (the house = Earth).

I haven't read your piece on Sudan and Darfur but I will. I am aware of what Siemens and other multinationals are doing down there to support the murderous regime of Umar al-Bashir in Khartoum and of the German government's financial support via AUMA and the BMWi ( German Trade Ministry). What I am hinting at in my previous comment is that none of us, especially EU nations and the Arab League countries, China, Pakistan, and a long list of other nations can say a damn thing about assisting the people of Darfur and southern Sudan. It is already too late, the ethnic cleansing and rampage of murder and rape and other atrocities against these people has reached the end game to the tune of perhaps 500,000 lives. The final death toll will be much higher because Darfurians will die of disease and illness and neglect for years to come just as over 4 million Congolese have since their 2nd civil war of 1998. Millions of people in Darfur are displaced from their homes and villages living in the worst conditions imaginable and under constant threat of rape and death while the regime in Khartoum leads the international community around on a leash of inaction and fear threatening a wider Jihad than we are facing now in much of the Middle East and at the Horn of Africa (Somalia).

What can any of us say to the people of Darfur or do on their behalf now that will make a difference in their lives? It is too late. Never again has happened yet again and we let it happen without doing anything to stop it. The United States government has been calling for harsh sanctions and military intervention since 2003-2004 but it has fallen on deaf ears both at the U.N. and in Brussels and Strasbourg. Darfur should be of very special signifigance (and shame) to the people of Germany, and I think you know why. Berlin could have done a lot more than offer military troop transport and paltry financial assistance to the African Union mission to Darfur, but to date it hasn't and Germany's policy toward Sudan will not change in the near future. After all, Sudan is a potentially lucrative source of oil and natural gas to nearby Europe. Being an African-American, I have an especially bitter fire in my gut re: the atrocities carried out in southern Sudan and in Darfur at the hands of an "Arabized" Islamic black elite in Khartoum and the Janjaweed militias. Amre Moussa of the Arab League was right, the Gates of Hell have been opened and will not be easily closed again.

I'll let somebody else comment on the 1983 U.N. Mission to Lebanon. Don't forget that the Hezbollah suicide truck bombs that exploded before the barracks of the Multinational Force in Lebanon not only killed U.S. Marines but killed a number of French military personell as well. No wonder the French are saying screw it to the proposed 2006 UN Mission Back to Lebanon until they have a clear mandate to shoot first and ask questions later. Make sure that the German Navy (Der Marine) brings plenty of firepower, you're gonna need it.

Der Spiegel magazine online has published a new article about the state of the German military (Deutsche Bundeswehr) and its (lack of) funding and preparedness to fulfill increasingly dangerous foreign peacekeeping missions. Actually, the real problem is with the Bundestag (Parliament) and not with the Bundeswehr HQ. Read Speigel Online International's article "Too Many Missions, Too Little Money - Germany's Army Feels the Pinch" (Sep 06, 2006):

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,435368,00.html

Following is an excerpt from the story:

But the demand for the Bundeswehr has grown faster than its capabilities. While countries like Australia, France and Great Britain have increased their military spending in recent years, Germany's defense budget has declined almost continuously since reunification. "Germany is among the countries that spends a relatively small percentage of its budget on defense," says the chancellor, succinctly summing up the problem.

Indeed, Germany spends just over one percent of its gross domestic product of about €2 trillion on defense, which puts it at the tail end of NATO countries in terms of military spending. Although the Bundeswehr's €24 billion budget will increase by €480 million next year, its own costs will rise by €300 million as a result of the increase in the value-added tax later this year that has already been approved by the Bundestag.

The defense minister is virtually the only prominent politician willing to stand up for the Bundeswehr. "Many members of parliament have lost interest in the Bundeswehr," says former Defense Minister and Social Democrat Hans Apel. "Supporting the military does nothing for their careers."

Despite its growing importance internationally, the German military continues to play the role of a stepchild in German domestic politics. Despite opinion polls that show the armed forces, together with the Federal Constitutional Court and the police, enjoying the highest level of public confidence among all government institutions, this hasn't convinced politicians to open the national pocketbook when it comes to military spending. Besides, two-thirds of German citizens say that Germany has plenty of problems of its own that should be addressed before turning to problems in other countries.