German Militarism and the Rise of Von der Leyen

https://thedefensepost.com/2019/11/27/germany-new-runway-niamey-niger-c-160/

I'm afraid the picture for this article caught my eye. I remember on a few occasions working with the German Budeswehr loading and unloading C-160's. They're like a miniaturised two-engine version of the Lockheed C-130. Our base normally hosted Spanish and British air units (F-18's and AWACS) but the Germans would show up on occasion in connection to some transport mission.

But Niger is a long way from Northern Italy and it's noteworthy because the German airfield project is a milestone, part of the shift toward remilitarisation on the part of Germany. And this represents not just an increase in military budgeting and personnel but in its global footprint. Germany is determined to become a major player on the world scene. The Aachen Treaty is supposed to bring Paris and Berlin into a tighter agreement which means that through France, Germany can begin to have a greater say with regard to the UN Security Council and it also means that Germany will work with France on the global stage... and Africa is ground zero at present. Africa is where there are literally dozens of low-grade conflicts taking place and it's in Africa that there are resources to be secured and paramilitaries to fight... something generals and defense secretaries embrace. Their armies need things to do. They need practice and if getting involved in little 'peacekeeping' conflicts serves their country's political and economic interests and gives them credibility with the United States, they're happy to oblige.

In addition to establishing a permanent German military presence within Eastern Turkey, and increasing arm sales, former German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen spearheaded NATO intervention (via collaboration with EU-Frontex) in the Mediterranean, ostensibly to stop the people smugglers. It was a mission that engendered apprehension on the part of some leaders. What many believed to be a task for the EU, was (effectively) taken up by NATO (or more properly put under NATO leadership) and for a time it seemed as if she would be rewarded by either the NATO Secretary-General position or perhaps even the leadership of Germany's CDU... and with it (perhaps) the German Chancellorship. In the end she was promoted to president of the European Commission in 2019. Hailed for her anti-immigration policy which supposedly saved lives... in reality the NATO naval intervention led the smugglers to abandon ships in the middle of the sea... escaping capture and leaving it up to NATO-Frontex ships to find them. Of course as we know many of the transport vessels sank and hundreds died.

Von der Leyen, a voice for a more aggressive German foreign policy has been catapulted into EU leadership... a move some find surprising, others find to be offensive. But no one can doubt that German power within Europe is on the rise. As Berlin's economic footprint continues to grow the leaders of the nation want German involvement in the wider global sphere. Policy and diplomacy can be shaped and more markets mean there's a lot more money to be made.