Matthias Dapfner, Chief Executive of the huge German publisher Axel Springer AG, has written a blistering attack in DIE WELT, Germany ‘s largest daily paper, against the timid reaction of Europe in the face of the Islamic Threat. This is a must read by all Americans.
(Commentary by Mathias Dapfner CEO, Axel Springer, AG)
A few days ago Henry Broder wrote in Welt am Sonntag, ” Europe — your family name is appeasement.” It’s a phrase you can’t get out of your head because it’s so terribly true.
Appeasement cost millions of Jews and non-Jews their lives as England and France, allies at the time, negotiated and hesitated too long before they noticed that Hitler had to be fought, not bound to toothless agreements.
Appeasement legitimized and stabilized Communism in the Soviet Union, then East Germany , then all the rest of Eastern Europe where for decades, inhuman suppressive, murderous governments were glorified as the ideologically correct alternative to all other possibilities.
Appeasement crippled Europe when genocide ran rampant in Kosovo, and even though we had absolute proof of ongoing mass-murder, we Europeans debated and debated and debated, and were still debating when finally the Americans had to come from halfway around the world, into Europe yet again, and do our work for us.
Rather than protecting democracy in the Middle East, European appeasement, camouflaged behind the fuzzy word “equidistance” now countenances suicide bombings in Israel by fundamentalist Palestinians.
Appeasement generates a mentality that allows Europe to ignore nearly 500,000 victims of Saddam’s torture and murder machinery and, motivated by the self-righteousness of the peace-movement, has the gall to issue bad grades to George Bush… Even as it is uncovered that the loudest critics of the American action in Iraq made illicit billions, no, TENS of billions, in the corrupt UN Oil-for-Food program.
And now we are faced with a particularly grotesque form of appeasement. How is Germany reacting to the escalating violence by Islamic fundamentalists in Holland and elsewhere? By suggesting that we really should have a “Muslim Holiday” in Germany ?
I wish I were joking, but I am not. A substantial fraction of our (German) Government, and if the polls are to be believed, the German people, actually believe that creating an Official State “Muslim Holiday” will somehow spare us from the wrath of the fanatical Islamists.
One cannot help but recall Britain ‘s Neville Chamberlain waving the laughable treaty signed by Adolph Hitler, and declaring European “Peace in our time.”
What else has to happen before the European public and its political leadership get it? There is a sort of crusade underway, an especially perfidious crusade consisting of systematic attacks by fanatic Muslims, focused on civilians, directed against our free, open Western societies, and intent upon Western Civilization’s utter destruction.
It is a conflict that will most likely last longer than any of the great military conflicts of the last century — a conflict conducted by an enemy that cannot be tamed by “tolerance” and “accommodation” but is actually spurred on by such gestures, which have proven to be, and will always be taken by the Islamists for signs of weakness.
Only two recent American Presidents had the courage needed for anti-appeasement: Reagan and Bush.
His American critics may quibble over the details, but we Europeans know the truth. We saw it first hand: Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War, freeing half of the German people from nearly 50 years of terror and virtual slavery. And, Bush, supported only by the Social Democrat Blair, acting on moral conviction, recognized the danger in the Islamic War against democracy. His place in history will have to be evaluated after a number of years have passed.
In the meantime, Europe sits back with charismatic self-confidence in the multicultural corner, instead of defending liberal society’s values and being an attractive center of power on the same playing field as the true great powers, America and China .
On the contrary — we Europeans present ourselves, in contrast to those arrogant Americans”, as the World Champions of “tolerance”, which even (Germany ‘s Interior Minister) Otto Schily justifiably criticizes.
Why? Because we’re so moral? I fear it’s more because we’re so materialistic, so devoid of a moral compass.
For his policies, Bush risks the fall of the dollar, huge amounts of additional national debt, and a massive and persistent burden on the American economy — because unlike almost all of Europe , Bush realizes what is at stake — literally everything. While we criticize the “capitalistic robber barons” of America because they seem too sure of their priorities, we timidly defend our Social Welfare systems. Stay out of it! It could get expensive! We’d rather discuss reducing our 35-hour workweek or our dental
coverage, or our 4 weeks of paid vacation … Or listen to TV pastors preach about the need to “reach out to terrorists. To understand and forgive.”
These days, Europe reminds me of an old woman who, with shaking hands, frantically hides her last pieces of jewelry when she notices a robber breaking into a neighbor’s house.
Appeasement? Europe , Thy name is Cowardice. God Bless America
I am an european and must recognize that this german guy is right! God bless America.
Awww – bull.
President Bush has sucked up to Muslims on a global basis. He lectured France that Europe could no longer be a ‘Christian only’ club. He has celebrated Muslim holidays, praised Islam to the stars, and looked the other way while Saudi Arabia funds Mosque after Mosque in the United States to produce more John Walker Lindhs.
Kosovo? Is this author serious? Not only was the genocide there fabricated, but doesn’t the moron who wrote the above piece understand that in Kosovo, a Christian people were battling Muslim terrorists?
If he and he Bushies are so keen to fight Muslims and put them in their place, then why is Kosovo still in Albanian hands? Why is keeping a peace keeping force in Kosovo to cover for anti-Christian violence helping to stem the Jihad against Western Civilization?
So we invaded Iraq. And? That helps Europe’s immigration problem how? What is the linkage between Europe caving in to an avalanche of immigrants demanding the Sharia, and Bush invading Iraq?
As if that were somehow going to stem the flow of immigrants, or somehow stiffen the spine of Germans enough to through out the Muslims.
The Muslims in Europe aren’t demanding the establishment of Ba’athist governments. They aren’t praising Saddam. They are demanding MUSLIM governments, of the kind that considered Saddam an apostate.
Get real with all this crud. Yes, Europe needs to kick out the Muslims and grow a backbone, but to pretend that somehow the most Politically Correct president we have had since Reagan is improving the situation is beyond words.
Ummm….wasn’t Kosovo on Clinton’s watch?
Note 2. Glen, I think you are missing the forest for the trees. Bush is highlighted here in contrast to almost every European leader. You can disagree on the particulars in the piece, but it is nevertheless significant.
You find the same dynamic in the videos on British mosques I posted. Note the analysis, particularly the emphasis on how Muslim teaching contradicts cultural standards on women’s rights, gay rights, etc. Obviously the reporter needs needs some kind of cultural reference to frame the threats, and that she chose these in the first part of a hard-hitting report shows, I think, how thorougly the British are drenched in indentity politcs. She doesn’t really comprehend how to frame the threat correctly, but she is clear a real threat exists. This is a promising beginning, IOW.
Dear Group:
Herr Matthias Döpfner first wrote this bit on the 20th of November 2004; the increased invective was added later.
East Europe: There are many in the East that put the blame on the concessions of Roosevelt and Churchill to Stalin at Yalta-to me, not history but then a current event. Many my age still feel this way but see the USA as an active leader at present.
The fact that we are a trillion+ in the hole dosen’t worry Herr Döpfner. On the current leaders in the various European States there is a grave problem, they are in political dissary in their home gpvernments, split coalitions, etc. The enlargement of the Union has put a great financial stress on the Western states, into the billions of Euros each.
As for the chocolate countries they believed that there were no WMD, nuclear bombs or poision gas warheads. That’s what the inspectors had said time and time again; but, as General Powell said ,’you break it ,you own it’. So Bush broke it.
The number of Iraque deaths now, Lancent-on the ground coverage- runs in excess of 500,000. That doesn’t count the country’s destruction and displaced people.
The Ottoman Empire had Iraq divided into three different provinces-but who reads history. Now with Bush’s innuendos toward Iran and Saudi Arabia arming we may have laid the ground work for WW111. If we or Israel attack we will have the whole of the Muslim world against us. The dollar will drop through the floor and Russia and China will pick up the pieces.
Sincerely, J R Dittbrenner
Meona –
Yes, the campaign in Kosovo was on Clinton’s watch. Bush has not reversed policy, however, on forcing Macedonia and Serbia to accede to Muslim demands. The groundwork has been laid to create an independent Kosovo during this administration. In fact, the Bush White House has put forward Kosovo as a successful example of nation building.
I do not fault President Bush for the attack on Serbia. Then Governor Bush actually campaigned against it. Nothing prior to 2001 is his fault in the Balkans. I expected a reversal of course, particularly after Muslim extremists attacked us on 9/11. However, we have continued our support for Albanian gangsters and the Balkans is the worse for it.
I totally agree that European leaders have been and will continue to be willfully blind to the threat in their midst. Their craven behavior in relation to their Muslim minorities is short-sighted and ultimately self-defeating. It is a disgrace. Plainly and simply a disgrace.
However, how exactly is President Bush’s policies that much different? We attacked Afghanistan. That was a necessary and good thing. We then attacked Iraq, a nation that wasn’t actually demanding anything from us, nor was it threatening us in a meaningful way. We could have chosen to attack Iran, a much more menancing nation which certainly needs to be dealt with, but we skipped that opportunity and focused instead on Iraq.
How does the fact that we attacked Iraq change these policies:
1) President Bush repeatedly praises Islam
2) Two successive TSA secretaries have hamstrung the agency with politically correct policies on President Bush’s watch. This even culminated in ‘sensitive’ training so that TSA employees at airports wouldn’t discriminate against Muslims returning from the Haj.
3) President Bush has repeatedly pushed for greater Muslim immigration into Europe.
4) We accept more Muslim immigrants into the U.S. today than prior to 9/11
5) President Bush has taken no stand on the slow spread of accomodation to Muslim religious law in places like schools.
6) President Bush has taken no effort to enforce our border. We are wide open to anyone with money to pay a coyote to bring them over.
The one bright spot is our policy in support of Ethiopia, which was by far the best thing President Bush has done in years.
I’m just not convinced that President Bush has done anything all that substantially different from the European leaders. Sure he attacked a foreign nation that happens to be Muslim, but domestically all I hear from the administration is more PC multi-cultural babble.
Glen – You have made me reconsider my previous support for Clinton’s Kosovo intervention.
I now have to conclude that the Clinton administration was guilty in Serbia of the same crime Israel is accused of commiting in Lebanon last summer – collective punishment against civilians. The destruction of electrical power plants, railway lines and critical transport bridges over the Danube, targets with questionable military value were acts designed to intimidate the population, and incite rebellion against Milosovich. The use of spent uranium tipped armament and cluster bombs which expose civilians to extreme danger of radiation poisoning and dismemberment, are two practices of the US military that come close to being war crimes.
This is not to say that some sort of intervention wasn’t justified. Milosovich’s repressive policies over the years had worked to agitate a Kosovo Albanian population that had previously been peaceful and placated under Marshall Tito. Just prior to the US intervention Serbian paramilitaries were running wild in Kosovo, killing civilians and herding Albanians en masse into railroad freight cars for deportation- images that brought back frightening memories of the Holocaust.
Something had to be done. Unfortunately, many in the US military establishment had become enamored of the idea that you could resolve every conflict by identifying targets by satelite and remotely firing cruise missiles and smart bombs at them from thousands of miles away. Hopefully, Iraq has finally proven this phiosophy to be illusory. Smart bombs are no substitute for smart foreign policy and smart diplomacy.