AP: Thursday Poll Shows Majority of Germans Oppose Backing US Action in Syria

[Faryn Balyncd]

Poll: majority of Germans oppose military intervention in Syria, against backing US-led action
Associated Press


BERLIN — A poll finds that a majority of Germans oppose Western military intervention in Syria and don't want their country to provide backing for any U.S.-led strike.

Thursday's poll for ZDF television found that 58 percent oppose intervention following last week's suspected poison gas attacks, with 33 percent in favor and 9 percent undecided.

It says 41 percent believe Germany should support financially or materially U.S.-led military action, with 55 percent opposed. The Forschungsgruppe Wahlen polling group surveyed 1,348 people Monday through Wednesday and gives a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Germans are generally wary of military action and Chancellor Angela Merkel's government is treading carefully ahead of Sept. 22 elections.


http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/221628341.html

[The Straight Story]

1. Well, it is Germany, they don't generally have a problem with dictators gassing people

[David__77]

2. Is that an attempt at humor?

Or do you really think the German people are somehow biologically or inherently genocidal? I think that Hitler fascism actually sensitized more Germans to the need for peaceful relations between countries.

[The Straight Story]

3. A little humor, but more than that in a way

Gassing folks and committing atrocities used to be something the world despised. We were supposed to have learned some lessons from it. One of them was "it is everyone's business" because at one time it was not seen as such.

Now we have someone using chemical warfare to kill thousands, and has used them 14 times before, and we still have people saying "Well, it is his country, his own people he is gassing, what are ya gonna do?"

We have resigned ourselves to seeing the people there as his property not worthy of defending. It's his business. If his solution to his internal problems are gassing all the undesirable people and terrorizing them we should just turn a blind eye.

The last people I think who would do so were the Germans having seen the horrors of civilians being slaughtered by a dictator. But apparently old habits die hard and they think it is no one's business what happens inside of another country.

If we had a president that was doing that here I would like to go on record now and say that I would welcome another country coming in to help us instead of blowing us off and saying "Well, he is the president, and they are his people to do with as he pleases".

[David__77]

4. OK, thank you.

I see your perspective. But I don't think concern must translate into military intervention. Take refugees, give food and medicine, not guns and missiles.

[The Straight Story]

5. Normally I would agree fully with that

Except looking at the congo we have had 5.4 million people die since 1998 and the UN has been involved there since 1999.

The UN, the US, and others have been helping the refugees from Syria already.

Sometimes, food and water is not enough to stem the tide of death.