Kenneth Ellman

October 10, 2014, Kenneth Ellman Comments on The Economist article “Germany’s Army, Chinks in the Armour”, Email:ke@kennethellman.com, Box 18, Newton, New Jersey 07860. America Should Not be Alone. Copyright 2014, Kenneth Ellman, All Rights Reserved.

Primarily due to the history of murder and destruction that is hard to forget, is relatively recent and remains haunting, I am no fan of Germany. This is unfortunate for there are some extraordinary accomplishments of the German people and genius such as Beethoven, Leibniz, Kepler. In perhaps one of the greatest ironies of history Albert Einstein was German. The fact that Germany would have tortured and killed him as a Jewish human being shows that human behavior is so intimately related with self destruction.

Empowering a German military brings back severe historical recollections. But while manufacturing human beings, including children to death may be a somewhat unique historical anomaly of Germany there are other considerations. Germany is not the only nation to have enjoyed and relished the killing and torture of man. Germany is hardly alone in the class of causing death. Japan and Nanking is not that long ago, as is the terrible oppression of Communist China which while mitigated today killed more Chinese than any thing else that comes to mind. The Soviet era, likewise was a disaster for Russia. Africans killing Africans and we could go on and on and on. So what does it all mean today?

Just as we must learn from the past we must live in the present and that poses a challenge of significant balance and intellectual activity. It is facetious to pretend that in our present time there are significant military powers other than America. Americans may not want that terrible burden, to be somewhat alone and a last resort of Liberty, but as discussed in Empires of Trust by Thomas Madden that is the reality. At least for now. I am not sure who else humanity can trust other than America to hold and use vast military capability. Great Britain another bastion of Liberty and Law has shed most of its military might. So we are faced with the idea that perhaps having multiple small powers such as created by NATO allows Western Civilization to put forward a credible and viable brute force to protect those things we value. I hope so.

American does not want to be alone and for that reason cultivates allies to assuage and mitigate the terror and necessity of combat and warfare. In the event of significant war I do not know how well NATO would perform. But I know that NATO, with Japan and others now allied to protect us, would be better than America fighting and dying alone. I do not see Germany becoming the killer of humanity again as it once was. Nor Japan seeking that same stinking path. We must face the reality today that Germany and Japan as democracies and nations of law are obligated to maintain significant military power in defense of those things we value. Great military power is used best when it need not be used at all. But when we are forced to defend, America should not be and die alone. Germany and Japan should have the military to defend and protect along with America and Britain. Germany, Britain and Japan must defensively rearm, fully and completely. Kenneth Ellman, email:ke@kennethellman.com, Box 18, Newton, New Jersey 07860

This can be found at: THE ECONOMIST