In New London, German consul calls U.S. policy a turning point for Europe.
The comments by Sonja Kriebich, a longtime German diplomat, came as President Donald Trump institutes tariffs against select countries and pulls back from the United States' three-year-long support of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
"It's a moment for Europe to assert itself," she said during an interview following a Rotary Partners for Peace luncheon at the Lighthouse Inn. "If Europe manages to seize this moment and will gain strength from it, something good will come from it."
Kriebich said despite some concerns in Europe that the NATO alliance could be at risk as Trump appears to be embracing Russia and other totalitarian countries, Germany still sees NATO as having a central role in the security of Europe, the United States and Canada.
"Germany over the last years, significantly increased its defense spending," she said during her Rotary speech. "We are now comfortably really close to reaching the 2 percent (of GDP) target for NATO (on defense spending). ... This increase of defense spending also immediately benefits the U.S. We've purchased more than $26 billion of military equipment from the U.S. defense industry."
Kriebich said many Germans once believed that they could nudge Russia toward democracy and a more friendly posture by strengthening trading and business ties. But recent events, especially the Russian attack on Ukraine, have dissuaded most of the political parties from this view, she said, as Europe now views Russia as a real threat to its security.
"This war at our doorstep heavily impacts our security," Kriebich said during her speech. "If you do not get to a fair and lasting peace that safeguards the key interests of Ukraine, we will not be safe in Europe. So this would only encourage Russia to do a next step."
She added that any peace deal worked out over the war must recognize Ukraine's independence and sovereignty. "All European states are determined to do more for their own security," she added. "Ukraine can rely on Germany and on Europe."
Kriebich added that the current uncertainty over U.S. support for Ukraine as well as Europe comes at a difficult time in Germany as a recent election put a more conservative government in charge that will take some time to form. At the same time, a far-right party in Germany has begun to gain strength, she added, though it is not powerful enough yet to be included in a coalition government.
In response to a question about the purported lack of free speech in Germany, Kriebich explained that Germany, because of its past experience with Nazism, has banned certain things it considers hate speech, such as Holocaust denial.
"I know that for Americans this sounds like a limitation to free speech, but we simply have a different definition of free speech," she said. "In Germany, hate speech is being punishable and it will also be prosecuted. So if you are being harassed on social media, for example, you can ask that to be addressed."
"Shock and awe"
Eric Fleury, a professor of government and international relations at Connecticut College who focuses on foreign policy, said Tuesday that Trump's lurch to the right internationally coincides with his rapid shock and awe strategy on the domestic front through the government consolidation spearheaded by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk.
"The idea is to hit the ground running, move fast and break things," Fleury said in a phone interview.
The problem, from Fleury's point of view, is that there appears to be no grand strategy on the international front, and many of the changes appear to be a lot of theater with very little follow through unless concessions can be extracted.
"The only thing that really matters is the image of being a so-called strongman, Fleury said.
The strategy includes inflating the amount of aid the United States has given to Ukraine while downplaying the support Europe has shown, according to many Trump opponents. According to FactCheck.org, Trump consistently has cited figures for U.S. military aid that is about double the amount Congress has allocated (some of which has not yet been spent). Meanwhile, European statistic show that those countries have contributed more than double what Trump has been citing, and has committed many billions more to Ukraine while the United States now is balking at more aid.
Despite the conflicts with longtime U.S. allies, Fleury said he doubts Trump will actually pull out of NATO. Instead, the president wants to get credit for extracting concessions from allies, he said, even as many of them had been moving in that direction anyway.
l.howard@theday.com
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