Germany has pulled out of NATO operations due to disagreements over the mission in Libya. To add to that, Germany did the unthinkable: it voted in favor of a UN Security Council resolution calling the Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory illegal and demanding the immediate halt of all settlement activity. Whoa.

Then, Ms Merkel did something very strange: she ordered the shutdown of Germany’s nuclear reactors.

Curiously, the Japanese, too, have now openly sided with the Palestinians — and they have now have serious problems with runaway nukes. Coincidence? Perhaps. But consider this: The same Israeli company providing “security” to Japan’s reactors is the one that’s also responsible for the nukes in Germany. Reckon that had something to do with why Merkel hurriedly ordered the shut down of German reactors? What does she know? Was Israel’s Stuxnet virus responsible — intentionally or not -- for the Japanese meltdown? Was it unleashed on the Japanese as a warning (albeit one that got out of control) not to mess with God’s chosen people? Is this what Merkel fears could happen in Germany?

Think that’s farfetched? Not when you consider that just yesterday, BOTH engines of Merkel’s immaculately maintained Puma chopper suffered simultaneous flameouts. Is Ms Merkel now suddenly waking up to the fact that the Israelis are stark raving mad and will stop at nothing to get what they want?

I’m inclined to believe Ms Merkel now takes very seriously the words of noted Israeli military historian Martin van Creveld when he openly boasted in an interview last year about Israel’s military capabilities, “We possess several hundred atomic warheads and rockets and can launch them at targets in all directions, perhaps even at Rome. Most European capitals are targets for our air force…. We have the capability to take the world down with us. And I can assure you that that will happen before Israel goes under.”

And van Creveld isn’t exactly chopped liver — he’s lectured at the American Army War College. Replying to a question whether Israel does not have fears of being classified as a criminal state if it expelled Palestinians, van Creveld said, “Israel is a state that does not care about what others say about it and you must remember the saying of former defense minister Moshe Dayan when he said that ‘Israel must always act as a wild dog because it should be dangerous in the eyes of others, rather than be harmed.’” ...



Germany pulls out of NATO operations
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171235.html 

Germany has pulled out of NATO operations in the Mediterranean due to the disagreement over the forces' mission in Libya.


The German defense ministry said on Tuesday that Berlin pulled out of any military operations in the Mediterranean following the Western military alliance's involvement in the Libya conflict, DPA reported.

A ministry spokesman said two frigates and two other ships with a crew of 550 would be reverted to German command.

Some 60 to 70 German troops participating in NATO-operated AWACS surveillance operations in the Mediterranean would also be withdrawn, according to the ministry.

Following the disputes among NATO members over the military intervention in Libya, they met in Brussels to mend differences over what role the alliance should play in Libya.

France says the takeover of the operations by NATO will alienate Arab states, however, Italy believes that NATO should take control of the military campaign in Libya.

Meanwhile, the head of the Italian Senate's defense affairs committee, Gianpiero Cantoni, said the French policy is motivated by a desire to secure oil contracts with a future Libyan government.

US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron have agreed NATO should play an important role in the command structure of the Libya mission, the White House said.

"They reviewed the substantial progress that's been made in terms of halting the advance of Gaddafi's forces on Benghazi as well as the establishment of a no-fly zone," said White House spokesman Ben Rhodes.


A Deepening Rift Between Germany and Israel
By JUDY DEMPSEY

BERLIN — On Feb. 18, Germany did something unthinkable. It voted in favor of a U.N. Security Council resolution calling the Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory illegal and demanding the immediate halt of all settlement activity.

The resolution did not pass — the United States, the only one of the Security Council’s 15 members to vote against it, vetoed it. That did not stop the German vote from opening a serious rift between Germany and Israel.

Ruprecht Polenz, a conservative lawmaker and chairman of the German Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said “the vote was highly unusual” given Germany’s practice of abstaining from or voting against any U.N. resolutions criticizing Israel.

But Mr. Polenz was adamant that it did not mean that Germany no longer defended the security of Israel. “It means that Chancellor Angela Merkel is trying to explain to the Israeli government that with the extraordinary changes taking place across the Middle East, time is not on its side when it comes to resolving the conflict with the Palestinians,” he said.

The German vote was authorized at the highest level. It marks a major change in Mrs. Merkel’s attitude toward Israel, which she had unswervingly supported since she took office more than five years ago.

Over the past few months, and particularly since the collapse of the authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, Mrs. Merkel has made it plain to the Israeli government that it cannot expect unqualified support from Berlin if it allows the conflict with Palestinians to drag on.

http://redactednews.blogspot.com/2011/03/bravo-angela-germany-pulls...