Press Release
Regarding the 53rd Security Conference in Munich
(Translated)

The active VIPs from political, science and civil society fields gathered on 14-16 February 2020 in Munich, Germany, to participate in the annual security conference held there, under the title "non-Western" to once again discuss the deterioration of the global liberal order that was established after the Second World War. In addition to the intellectual contradiction in the structure of the German strategy, the speeches made by German representatives beginning with the President of the Republic, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, through to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas, and ending with the Minister of Defense, Annegret Kramp Karrenbauer, showed the extent of the dangerous dependence facing the path of German foreign and security policy.

In his capacity as supreme position, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier drew the outlines of German foreign and security policy. He focused first on changing the general frameworks of international politics, which in turn led to skepticism in matters that were long recognized as postulates, where he said: "I fear that we are witnessing today a destructive dynamic of global politics "....", that the idea of ​​'competition between great powers' not only do they form strategic papers today, but they also control the new reality we live in...". After Russia and China, the "closest ally" of the Federal Republic of Germany - the United States of America - has now discarded the idea of ​​the international community. The narrow nationalist view will lead, as he said: "in the midst of new security pitfalls, the nuclear arms race, and the intensification of regional conflicts, to failure to address great humanitarian issues through joint collective action." Germany is still "surrounded by friends" as he put it, but the European Union faces great challenges: "If we look at the European Union today, we notice economic diversification instead of rapprochement, and we notice increasing political and ideological cracks... Contrary to the past, we cannot start the year 2020 with the premise that the great powers have an interest in a successful European integration. On the contrary to this, each of the major players is looking for their own interests, even if it was at the expense of the European unity, and this is not a good development for us." And as he said, that both developments must be addressed... the must continue to adhere to the idea of the international community, and strive to create an international legal system, and strengthen Europe as "the inevitable framework to prove the German presence in the world."

On a dynamic level, this foreign and security policy can only be achieved by strengthening the Atlantic Alliance and the common foreign and security policy of the European Union. Steinmeier said: "As for Germany, the development of an effective European Union in the field of defense policy is a must, just like expanding the European pillar in the Alliance." Foreign Minister Haikou Maas and Defense Minister Annegret Kramp Karrenbauer resumed talk of this "dual strategy", with Foreign Minister Maas asserting that Germany is ready to do more, including the military effort: "Of course, I am thinking in this regard in building a European security and defense union as a strong European pillar within NATO, and this is what we are working hard for together with France, and we accept President Macron's offer for a strategic dialogue on this issue." But this military participation must follow a certain political logic: "Without diplomacy, without a clear political strategy, and without building military capabilities in the same locations, we risk - at best - that military operations do not work, and at worst they can increase the crisis." The broad line in this regard is the statement made by former German Defense Minister Peter Strzok, who said: "The defense of German security is also taking place in the mountains of Sindh and India." Now this broad line must be expanded, because the defense of German security is also taking place "in Iraq, Libya and the Sahel, as well as on negotiation tables in New York, Geneva and Brussels", as he said. Also, Germany and Europe need to "place greater weight in the balances of international politics", these were the the words of Defense Minister Annegret Kramp Karrenbauer. This is not only necessary in the context of the regular competition between America and China, but also by looking at "the southern neighborhood of Europe - namely Africa and the Near and Middle East."

These broad lines of German foreign and security policy show serious repercussions. On the one hand, the German government wants to open up to initiatives such as the call of French President Macron to conduct a strategic dialogue to build an independent European foreign and security policy. But an independent European defense policy is subject to failure due to opposition from Eastern European countries, historical rivalries may also rise again: "The German and French perception of building European defense capabilities independent of the United States will generate fears among the Polish government of German control over Europe" as stated in a recent analysis in The Journal of International Politics and Society. At the same time, the German government is seeking to strengthen the NATO alliance with the United States and stabilize European foreign and security policy as a European pillar in NATO. Therefore, the dispute that will arise as a result of this with France may lead to the failure of the project before its start. Also, the current debate about unilateral European intervention in the Arab Gulf, independent of US policy toward Iran (the policy of extreme pressure), reflects conflicting interests, which is a harbinger of other differences that necessarily result from contradictory coalition systems.

Moreover, both tracks make German interests hostage to failed strategies in the Near and Middle East as well as in the African continent. The European ocean - that is, Islamic countries- views the United States and France as hostile powers that want to preserve and expand their influence and economic interests, and implement their political plans in the ideological and cultural sphere.And if German foreign and security policy remains unchanged in the traps of the American and French interventions, it will fail as the recent wars in Islamic lands have failed, whether in Afghanistan, Iraq or Mali. Add to that the precarious situation in Islamic lands, which is mainly caused by the imposition of a strange ruling system on it after the World War, a system that completely violates the Islamic identity and lifestyle.Strategists in the corridors of the German Foreign Ministry during the events of the Arab Spring were supposed to realize that the current entities in the Islamic world had failed at the most estimate, and that political stability could only be achieved in this region with the establishment of a true Islamic state. An aggressive foreign policy defending Western values in Iraq, Libya and the Sahel will lead to the sustainability of the current conflicts and the eventual destruction of Germany's relatively positive reputation in this region.

Against this background, Hizb ut Tahrir in the German-speaking countries urgently warns decision-makers in the corridors of German federal policy against the expansion of German military activities in Islamic lands. Rather than trying to hunt self-interest within the Franco-American conflict and as an emerging partner in the cords of their political games, it is better for Germany to develop its own strategy and to liberate in the long run from its current association with coalition structures and political paths of other countries. Because of its historical alliance with the Ottoman Caliphate, Germany has a balance of relations that can be considered a strategic advantage for it, compared to the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China. In view of the unilateralism that has begun to spread in international politics, Germany must map out a strategy that fits this challenge and enables it to build good and extended relations with its neighboring Muslim countries.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in the German-Speaking Countries