re: Russia Unveils New Main Battle Tank, Among Other Things

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While I understand that line of thought, you must remember, one of the original ideas behind NATO was to keep Germany down, so to speak, in other words, we probably don't want a militarized Germany threatening its neighbors again...been there, done that.

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Yes, thanks for reminding me about that.

Some time ago, I was involved in a sort of "think tank" during my time stationed in Germany. It was a symposium of NATO officers and academics, and we took a week or so to examine and analyze the military/geo-political situation.

The German officers to whom I spoke fully understood the mission of the German Armed Forces: to defend the German people and the German nation.

They agreed with me that it would be nice if the German armed forces were strong enough to accomplish that mission. We agreed that a significant constraint was the over-arching fear of her Western neighbors that a strong Germany would again start a war.

The German academics at the symposium were militantly adamant that Germany must never again be militarily strong for the reasons that you cite. They said that NATO was responsible for German self-defense.

The problem with this view is that NATO is the USA. If NATO is responsible for the self defense of the German people and the German nation, that means the US military is responsible for that.

Does any German officer or politician have the moral right to abrogate this duty of self-defense? I mean this as a question of philosophy and morality.

In my view the answer is no. Germany is on the wrong path. The USA and the US military should no longer be viewed as the "Mama" and "Papa" of the German people.

Germany must be prepared and capable of defending HERSELF.

Poland must be prepared and capable of defending HERSELF.

IMHO, it's old fashioned and out moded to expect that NATO ( the US military ) will be there like Mama and Papa to protect baby Germany from the big bully to the East.

I understand that Germany may be in WAY too deep with european socialism to afford to defend themselves.

I do not and I will never consider that to be my problem or the problem of the USA.

It's time for a new Poland and a new Germany to rise and be ready to defend themselves. If they can't then, they may end up being at the mercy of Russia on some future day.

I'm not convinced that this would be our problem, because it's not our job to defend a foreign nation that refuses to defend itself. The USA doesn't have that kind of money.

RIGHT NOW, of course, NATO says that it is our problem, but, I'm looking towards the future. How much longer can the NATO paradigm last? Will it last forever?

In my view, the USA should keep NATO strong and vigilant for the moment. However, there should be some long-range thinking and planning amongst NATO members towards a day when NATO may exist, but, each member nation will be required to be militarily strong enough to defend ITSELF.