Only three posts a day, so I had better make this a useful one.
Do Dennis Redmond and Chris Doss see this merely as a humanitarian gesture, or can we admit that Germany might have great power interests? (not entirely a rhetorical question, I would like to hear your opinions)
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,437248,00.html
DER SPIEGEL 37/2006 - September 11, 2006 URL: http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,437248,00.html
Germany and the Middle East Putting Berlin Between Beirut Jerusalem By Ralf Beste, Georg Mascolo and Bernhard Zand
The German navy will soon be stationed off the coast of Lebanon. That's a development sure to have an impact on Arab perceptions of Germany, which is shifting from being a widely respected observer in the region to actively intervening in the Arab-Israeli conflict. But can Berlin hold Arab sympathies while clearly committing itself to protecting Israel?
Germany has a lot of friends in Beirut. During the soccer World Cup two months ago, the Lebanese cheered for the German team, the favorite of many, right up until the semi-finals, when Germany lost to Italy.
Three days after the final, war broke out in the Middle East. That the German team is popular in Lebanon was made clear by the thousands of German flags that were still attached to Lebanese houses and cars for weeks into the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. They were on display in places as different as the Sunni city of Tripoli, the Christian-dominated, wine-cultivating villages of the Bekaa Valley, and the heavily bombed Shiite suburbs of Beirut.
No other Western power could rival Germany's popularity -- not the United States, which has few friends in the Middle East right now, and not Great Britain, the old colonial power. Even France comes up short despite helping push the Syrians out of Lebanon.
And now that Berlin and Beirut have agreed on the details, the German navy will be sent to the Middle East in order to protect the Lebanese coast. The guidelines for the peacekeeping operation were negotiated by diplomats and military officials following a carefully coordinated international choreography.
[full article at http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,437248,00.html]
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