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France and Germany greater threat than North Korea Experts recommend military action against Europe New York Tribune, 20 February 2003 Forget North Korea. After America has finished with Iraq the next targets should be France and Germany. That is the view of experts at an influential think-tank in Washington. According to Dr Frank Grinzinski, head of the Center for Strategic Democracy, the recent trial of an Al-Qaeda agent in Germany provides compelling evidence that European countries have been harboring terrorists. “These are the very same terrorists that were responsible for 911”, said Dr Grinzinski. “The trial of Mounir al-Motassadek proved this. Yet European Governments have been allowing these people to attend college, rent apartments, walk into any restaurant or department store. Clearly the Germans and French are a threat to American security. They have to be dealt with”. The Center for Strategic Democracy is know to have the support of US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who was verbally attack by the German foreign minister when he visited Munich earlier this month. Some observer saw the attack as payback for Rumsfeld’s criticism of the German Chancellor’s re-election campaign. Back in September, Rumsfeld said that Chancellor Schroeder had poisoned relations between Washington and Berlin. “The war of words has been going on for months,” said a western diplomat who attended yesterday’s press conference. “I am not surprised that Rumsfeld is preparing for the next phase.” A 54-page report released at the press conference examines the arguments for military action against mainland Europe. Using the same reasons which have been used to support war on Iraq, the report concludes that France and Germany are a greater threat than North Korea. Mentioned in the report are:
Recent moves by the two countries to create an ‘Axis of Dissent’ means that action is needed sooner rather than later, said the report. “The Center takes the position that US interests would be best served by a preemptive move.” But will the US get international support for military action in Europe? That was the question put to Dr Grizinski by the Washington Post. Dr. Grinzinski replied with his own questions: “Do you think the Russians would like to regain some of the territory which was taken away from them in Eastern Europe? Do you think the British would like the Pound to replace the Euro? Are the Spanish happy with the way the French have harbored Basque terrorists? Does Italy need oil supplies? What do you think?” In response to another question about the huge protests that took place in Europe last weekend, Dr Grinzinski suggested that the demonstrations showed how French and German people were being brain-washed by their leaders. “Sure, there was a big crowd of anti-American protesters on the streets of Paris,” said the head of the Center for Strategic Democracy. “There was also a big crowd of anti-American protesters on the streets of Baghdad. In both cases I believe that the protests were orchestrated by the Government. Look, we don’t need the CIA to tell us whose side these people are on. It’s obvious they are not with us”. ----- [Note on sources: the New York Tribune was founded by Horace Greenley in 1841. Greenley later helped to found the Republican Party and then an offshoot called the ‘Liberal Republican Party’. He ran for President in 1872, won 40% of the popular vote but died shortly after the elections. In it’s heyday The New York Tribune published articles by leading socialists and feminists, including Karl Marx and Margaret Fuller. The Tribune amalgamated with the New York Herald in 1924 and continued publication until 1966. The European edition of the New York Herald Tribune, which began in 1887 as the Paris edition of the Herald, was relaunched in 1967 as the International Herald Tribune. The Center for Strategic Democracy has yet to be established. Frank Grinzinski is a truck driver living in Washington, Iowa] |
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