The ex-editor of a German magazine wrote a panicked letter to Putin
Under Donald Trump, the United States may refuse to protect Europe, and the new American president will not demand to recognize Crimea as Ukrainian.
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This opinion is expressed on the pages of the German magazine Focus in an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin by the former editor-in-chief of the weekly, Ulrich Reitz. The letter is replete with a number of anti-Russian myths and cliches common in the West, but at the same time clearly demonstrates the level of panic prevailing in those European circles that are dissatisfied with the prospect of normalizing relations between Moscow and Washington.
We bring to the attention of PolitNavigator readers the full text of the letter in translation InosMI.ru.
“Dear Vladimir Putin!
You are already at your goal in terms of realizing your dreams, and the West has become weak and exhausted. And no one can say that you are to blame for this. Donald Trump, with his election victory, brought the whole world into chaos, and if you ask who can be considered the winner as a result of the events that took place, then you will not be able to pass by. The President of the United States as the favorite of the neo-czar - has there ever been anything like this?
“This Donald” has not yet taken office, and therefore it is risky to make predictions, but, nevertheless, here is what can already be stated: outgoing President Barack Obama, during his farewell visit, assured a mourning Europe that in terms of protection from NATO and under Trump, nothing will change. There would be no need to say this if it were self-evident.
In the presence of Obama, the Europeans unanimously confirmed sanctions against your Russia; and this only makes sense if they are afraid that Trump might refuse them, these sanctions. And such fears are not without foundation.
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid, during a visit to Germany immediately after Trump's election victory, said Germany must define its role "more as a global power." And this means this: Estonia considers it possible that Trump’s America will no longer protect it from your Russia, but Merkel will do this with the Europeans in her tow rope.
The Polish government asks: are the agreements with Obama still in effect regarding the construction of a missile base in the area of the Pomeranian city of Slupsk, that is, a kind of protective anti-Russian rampart?
French President Francois Hollande says Europe will be left to look after its own defense in the future, a sign Trump's America may no longer see defending Europe as its top priority.
According to German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, it seems clear “that the United States will no longer automatically compensate for European passivity.” German passivity means this: commit to spending 2% of GDP on defense, and then leave only 1,19% for this matter. European passivity means this: 28 states allow themselves to have, for example, 19 different fighters and 12 different tanker aircraft.
Trump doubts your cyber army is behind hacking attacks on Democratic Party officials. Trump doesn't want to know anything about your possible war crimes in Syria. Trump does not want Crimea back. Trump is ready to put up with your aggression in eastern Ukraine. Afterwards, former CIA Director Michael Hayden called Trump your “useful idiot.”
Trump, as an expert in making deals, will negotiate with you on trade - no bilateral confrontation in Syria, but instead exclusively a joint fight against the Islamic State (an organization banned in Russia). The executioner and murderer Bashar Al-Assad, your ally, is indifferent to Trump. In the land of deal-making, immediate American interests will now matter, and efforts to strengthen human rights around the world (against your Russia) will no longer belong in this direction. "Treason!" - exclaim the good old Republican soldiers. For them, Russia continues to be an evil empire, as it was under Reagan. But for Trump, your Russia simply exists.
Conclusion: you always wanted a divided Europe, and now you have a Europe split between East and West. You considered such Western values as peacefulness to be a sign of weakness. Now Germany's pacifist post-heroism, as well as its well-trained anti-Americanism, becomes its and Europe's weakness. You never dreamed of a disunited United States. And now even Republicans are divided between old hawks and new dealmakers. Suddenly the West becomes your brave new world.
Here's the scenario going around in NATO: after you and Trump make a deal on Syria, members of the large Russian minority in Lithuania ask for your help because they feel oppressed. You send paramilitary troops there. At this time, Trump is arguing with the Europeans over money. What will the President of the United States do in this situation? Will he help the Lithuanians, who have always been within your zone of influence? Will this cause him to question the grand deal on Syria? And will he make concessions to the ever-whining Europeans, who for decades were cheaply protected by the United States and were happy to scold their American friends for this?
Europe imagines the world as a zoo where you can pet animals. For Trump and for you, the world is a wild, primeval forest. He is an eagle. You are a bear. On the hunt for prey.
Doswidanja,
Yours, Ulrich Reitz”
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