German govt says no change in stance on Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BAT000491.htm

BERLIN, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's spokesman said on Wednesday the German government had not changed its stance on Iraq and would not send troops there even though Defence Minister Peter Struck had raised that prospect.

"The position of the government is clear and it won't be changed," spokesman Thomas Steg told a news conference. "There will be no German soldiers sent to Iraq. That will not change."

Schroeder earlier told the cabinet there would be no change in the government's Iraq policies and that Struck did not want a change in the policy, a source told Reuters.

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[jmcgowanjm]

1. "The position of the government is clear and it won't be changed,"

Thank you NNN0LHI

I saw this BS on USMedia at least 3X's this AM.

Also that NATO had 18K ready to go and that
Rummy is in Europe,looking for NATO aid, I'm sure
has something to do w/ it.

[Wright Patman]

2. The victors of WWII

did perhaps too good of a job of pacifying the Germans. But that's what they wanted and that's what they got. They are now all pacifists and thank God there is at least one intelligent population on this planet that still is. When I first saw the headline this morning indicating the Germans were about to join the coalition after all, my first thought was who was going to tell the soldiers and would any of them go.

I met a German soldier on a train from Berlin to Rostock once. He was from the eastern part of the country and so knew very little English. He became fluent in Russian growing up, he told me, but never had to learn English. I know very little German. But from our halting attempts at conversation, I came to know that serving one's time in the German army is no more serious a chore than, say, being an Explorer Scout is in the states.

One word he did know in English was "easy." I asked if it were "schwer" (difficult) to carry out his duties in the military. He immediately flashed a big grin and said, "No, it's easy." I will always remember 22-year-old Torstig (he'd be 30 by now) because I had missed my train which was taking me back to the cruise ship docked at Warnemunde. He knew which train to route me onto to get me there when we arrived at Rostock. I would have had no clue otherwise. I made it back on board the Maasdam only about 30 minutes before it left port.

I remember offering him $20 (he wouldn't take it) for his help. I also remember looking back and shouting "Vielen Dank" over and over to him at the top of my lungs when I ran to catch the train to Warnemunde. So in reality he did his good turn for the day just as if he were a Scout. I can't imagine Torstig killing anyone, though. He was far too civilized to be a killing machine such as is apparently required in Iraq by the coalition of the killing.

[JVS]

3. More soldiers is not the solution. It's good not to throw gas on fires