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June 26, 2005
Some gratitude. . .
The Checkpoint Charlie Monument is scheduled to be destroyed by the Berlin city government on July 4th.
President Bush should definately ask German Chancellor Schroeder about this act that one can only describe as highly insulting to free people everywhere.
Secondly, I think we should think seriously about giving a sharp rap on the nose to the German government by ending all aid programs to Germany. They can try to get the aid back from the last remaining Communist countries (yeah, right).
They certainly have a right to do whatever they want over there, but lets get real. Checkpoint Charlie was the focal point for the cold war. The monument remembers those East GERMANS who died trying to reach the west. For decades, Americans stood guard at Checkpoint Charlie, manning the front line against the communists.
I don't think I need to remind people about the Berlin Airlift, nor the fact that even though Germany as a nation went decidely batshit in the 30's and 40's and tried to take over the whole damn world, we didn't hold it against the German people and we essentially rebuilt their nation and economy. Not to mention the billions in economic aid to Germany in the 60 years since the end of World War 2.
I'm sure if there's any outrage, the German authorities will say it's just a mistake and there was no "message" to be sent by doing this on the 4th of July, but lets get real again. If this isn't a message, I don't know what is.
So I say we send a message back, end all economic assistance to Germany, until they decide to play nice. I think we might start off by ending all purchasing agreements with German firms for goods and services used by our bases in Germany. We can simply buy supplies and provisions from Poland. If they bitch, we can move our bases to Poland, who would LOVE to have our American dollars deposited in the hands of deserving Poles who would actually be greatful.
--Jason
CLARIFICATION: In response to a comment, Checkpoint Charlie is not being removed (that's already been done, the original booth is in the Allied Museum in Zehlendorf). What's being removed is the CHECKPOINT CHARLIE MONUMENT that remembers those that died trying to escape from East Germany. Here's a picture of what they are bulldozing (in case you don't go to the linked article).
Posted by JasonColeman at June 26, 2005 10:28 PM
Comments
I was in Berlin the year before the wall came down and went through Charlie on my way in to East Berlin.
Though it is sad to see the checkpoint being removed I think that removing a Cold War reminder is the best thing for Germany, even if we don't fully agree with it.
Posted by: Hemisphere Dancer at June 26, 2005 11:06 PM
Ok, as I mentioned via email I thought it was the actual checkpoint. The fact that it is a memorial to those that dies changes the answer. Not real happy with them removing the memorial.
Posted by: Hemisphere Dancer at June 27, 2005 10:46 AM
Right. Good idea:'end all aid to Germany'.
Do you think for 1 second that Daimler/Chysler would NOT immediately cease ALL operations here in the US? that would put THOUSANDS of people out of work & at the same time there would be myriad small ripples felt throughout the economy because of it.
Stop all foreign aid? No. Move the bases to Poland? Sure.
peace
Posted by: lordcliffton at July 5, 2005 1:50 AM
D/C most certainly would not cease any operations here. Ending aid is not an "act of war", for Germany to get uppity about it would be an admission that they "need" the United State's aid. Regardless of the truth they certainly aren't going to admit that.
I'm sure the stockholders of D/C wouldn't be too happy about it either. Any stupid move like that would cause the local governments to seize the plants for breach of contract, as well. Selling them on the cheap to GM or Ford.
As for moving the bases to Poland, why not, every few years the Germans mount some protest about our imperial presence, and we have the debate "are they really necessary". For the U.S. they are not, we'd get much more out of them in Poland. After all, we are working WITH the Polish military, the Poles have plenty of land for us to train on, and we'll be bringing up a struggling economy.
Don't hold a thought for a minute that those German bases can't be closed, the Germans need us more than we need the Germans.
--Jason
Posted by: JasonColeman at July 5, 2005 2:04 AM
