Ex-Merkel adviser warns of heavy weapons for Ukraine - "Path to World War III"

Created: 04/13/2022, 09:20

By: Linus Prien

Leopard 2A6 © IMAGO/Christoph Hardt

Angela Merkel's ex-military adviser has spoken out against the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine.

A face-saving solution for both sides is possible.

Berlin - Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's military policy adviser, former Brigadier General Erich Vad, has spoken out against the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine.

Such deliveries are potentially a "path to the Third World War," Vad told the dpa.

According to the military, a “face-saving” solution for both sides in the Ukraine conflict is possible.

Ukraine war - Former Merkel advisor: The war must be "thinking from the end"

Apart from the potential for escalation, complex weapon systems such as the Leopard battle tank or the Marder infantry fighting vehicle can only be operated and used properly after years of training, said Vad.

They are of no use to the people of Ukraine militarily at the moment and in the foreseeable future.

"We're doing a lot of war rhetoric at the moment - out of good alignment ethics," Vad said.

“But as we all know, the road to hell is always paved with good intentions.

We must think of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine from the end.

If we don't want World War III, sooner or later we'll have to get out of this logic of military escalation and start negotiations."

Ukraine war: Merkel's former military expert puts the Ukraine war in perspective

Vad warned against denying Russian President Vladimir Putin's humanity and branding him a pathological despot with whom one can no longer talk.

As terrible as the Ukraine war is in violation of international law, it is part of a chain of comparable wars of recent date.

"Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan - it's not all that new," said Vad.

Unfortunately, the far too many dead civilians and the massacres that have now taken place in the Ukraine war are not exceptional.

“In war innocents are killed.

Such is war.

Unfortunately, that is inherent in the system.” Vad recalled the Iraq war of 2003. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed in this war and during the subsequent occupation of the country.

“Compared to that, Putin is not out of the ordinary.

Here you have to leave the church in the village - as shocking as the pictures are."

For example, when it is said that the Russians set fire to a maternity hospital, the implication is that it was done on purpose.

"But it certainly wasn't Putin's intention - why should he do that?

He is being pilloried around the world for this.

As terrible as that is, we had that and the acceptance of thousands of dead civilians in Iraq, in Libya, in Afghanistan as well.” So far, the so-called collateral damage in Ukraine has been far less than in Iraq or Afghanistan.

War in Ukraine: It is always about expanding spheres of influence

It is just as double-edged to accuse Putin of counting Ukraine and Crimea as part of Russia's geopolitical sphere of influence.

It is then said that this is an obsolete 19th century view.

“But the Monroe Doctrine, which states that no intervention by foreign powers will be tolerated on the American continent, still applies to the Americans today.

And the Caribbean is certainly also a sphere of influence, not just since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Even if you want to advance the democratization of the world with good intentions, it is always about expanding spheres of influence in fact and in terms of power politics.”

Ukraine war: "Both sides could get out of it face-saving"

The security expert and military analyst assumes that Putin gave up the regime change he originally wanted in Ukraine after the extensive withdrawal from the Kyiv area.

"That's why the chances for negotiations are actually not bad," said Vad.

“Both sides could get out of there face-saving.

The Ukrainians have proved that they have effectively defended their capital Kyiv and, moreover, are conducting a successful defensive struggle against a superior opponent.

The Russians, in turn, have made some land gains in the east and on the Black Sea coast.

These are not the worst prerequisites for armistice and peace negotiations and better for both sides than letting themselves be dragged further into the swamp of a long war with an uncertain outcome."