As of: March 6, 2024, 12:24 p.m
By: Marcus Mäckler
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“I had to completely change my worldview,” says FDP Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki.
© Marcus Schlaf
FDP politician Wolfgang Kubicki speaks in an interview with the Munich Merkur about Taurus deliveries to Ukraine and Chancellor Scholz.
Munich – High-ranking Bundeswehr officers chat carelessly about delicate matters, and the Russians listen in.
The country is concerned about the eavesdropping scandal involving Air Force General Ingo Gerhartz.
FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki (72) speaks in an interview about the consequences of the incident - and announces a Taurus uprising against the Chancellor.
Kubicki in an interview about the Bundeswehr wiretapping affair – “I’m very amazed”
Mr. Kubicki, officers around Air Force General Ingo Gerhartz discuss the most sensitive content unprotected via Webex.
You can't make it any easier for the Russians, can you?
I am also very amazed that the highest Bundeswehr generals apparently do not expect that our potential opponents are listening in on us.
That's quite a piece.
The air force inspector has to explain himself.
We talk about the turning point all the time, but even at the highest levels it doesn't seem to be taken to heart...
It's not a new experience that people are being eavesdropped on.
I remind you that our American friends also spied on us extensively.
It's hard for me to understand why people with such a high level of security act so carelessly.
This is not a question of war, but of personal attitude.
Anyone who handles security-relevant information so carelessly should ask themselves whether they have lost anything in the job.
Does the air force inspector have to resign?
I don't have to demand that; others will certainly do that.
Kubicki on Scholz's Taurus statements - "we know that he occasionally has gaps in his memory"
The officers say that Bundeswehr soldiers are not needed in Ukraine to control Taurus missiles.
The Chancellor claims the opposite.
Is he ill-informed or lying?
Hard to say.
We know that he occasionally has memory lapses.
Seriously: Why is he so opposed to the Taurus delivery?
I have a guess.
Gerhard Schröder won an election against all odds when the US invaded Iraq and the Germans didn't take part.
Scholz wants to document that he wants to do everything to prevent the war from spreading into our territory.
The SPD's next election slogan could be: Prudence saves lives.
Her party friend Agnes-Marie Strack-Zimmermann says: Strength makes us safe.
Who is right?
You have to appear strong and still remain level-headed.
My colleague Strack-Zimmermann is also level-headed.
But there are some people who believe that because good is on their side, they win every battle.
I think that's presumptuous.
“Had to completely change my worldview” – Kubicki on war in Ukraine
So does the war in Ukraine need more realism?
I had to completely change my world view.
The day before the Russian attack I would have bet my annual diet that the Russians wouldn't attack because it just doesn't make sense.
The war in Donbass should have set off all alarm bells.
But we didn't want it, we just wanted to be surrounded by friends.
It took me some time to recover from that.
Your lesson from this?
Upgrade as quickly as possible and with everything we have.
Our internal state of mind is of no use to us if there remains a risk that the Russians will attack us too.
Kubicki insists on Taurus deliveries to Ukraine – “I’m for it”
Do we really have to deliver Taurus now?
The Chancellor's argument is now gone...
I am in favor.
The exciting question now is how the Chancellor and his people explain why we don't do it.
I am sure the Union will submit another proposal next week and I am also sure that this time more MPs will vote to deliver Taurus to Ukraine.
Also from your party?
Last time, at least a dozen other colleagues I know would have loved to have agreed to the Union proposal, but they submitted to coalition discipline.
I was close to it too.
This time I would have reached the point of doing it.
The Union should not make the mistake of bashing the Chancellor or the traffic lights in its proposal.
Two simple sentences about Taurus and I suspect there are at least a dozen voices from the FDP who will join in.
Your party colleague Alexander Lambsdorff has recently become ambassador to Russia.
What do you hear from him?
First of all: The post was definitely not a friendly gift from Annalena Baerbock.
Now he sits in the most problematic diplomatic post we have.
Why?
Because there is hardly any communication between Moscow and Berlin.
I called him 14 days ago.
It's a difficult situation for him, but he's an optimist.
Now he has to hold out for three years.
If Ms. Baerbock ends up being Foreign Minister, her next position will probably be in the Vatican.