williatw wrote:
"Piss off" Trump enough and you may see; a full scale trade war between the US and Germany that the US would likely win.
Maybe, maybe not. Depends on whether Germany partners with other nations like Russia or China, I guess.
williatw wrote:
Perhaps the US had a significant hand in Germany immigration policy but I doubt it; never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity or incompetence (paraphrasing Napoleon)
If it was JUST the immigration policy, then I would say it can be explained with stupidity. If it was JUST the Energiewende, then it can be explained with stupidity. If it was JUST some unfavorable trade agreements, then it could be explained with stupidity. But all of those (and then some)?
Two is a coincidence, three is a pattern.
Skipjack wrote:In any case, it has been a main goal of US foreign policy of the past 110 years to prevent an economic union of Germany and Russia. A combination of Germany engineering and Russian resources is one of the few things that could threaten US economic dominance.
Then the US is acting in its understandable national interest
(& aren't you an American citizen now Skipjack; thought you immigrated here from Austria a few years back?). Furthermore don't think Germany would like being a vassal state to Russia any more (probably likely much less) than to the United States.[/quote]
Of course the US is acting out of it's best interest. The same should be true for Germany! I am not judging the US. It is perfectly fine for the US and it's leaders to do what they are doing, been doing for over 100 years (according to George Friedman the founder of Stratfor, among other US policy makers and influencers).
It is NOT perfectly fine for a leading German politician to be acting in favor of US interests.
I am not a US citizen. I am a permanent resident. I keep that door open. If the GOP implements their latest plan for healthcare, I might have(!) to move back to Austria, whether I want to or not (would not be able to get health insurance here anymore). Would suck, since I have pretty much built a life here for myself now.
Besides, what does that have to do with anything? No matter what citizen I am, I can still have a critical opinion on what is happening in politics, US, German, Austrian and otherwise.