In what would clearly constitute one of the great ironies of history if it happened, the Jerusalem Post is reporting that Israeli Prime Minister Olmert is in favor of German troops serving in any international force that would end up occupying southern Lebanon:
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he would welcome German troops participating in an international force in southern Lebanon, according to a newspaper interview published Friday.
German officials have not ruled out contributing soldiers to a security force, but Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that “we as Germans should approach this region with the greatest caution.”
Some have speculated over what would happen if German troops were forced into a position of conflict with Israeli soldiers, or if the weight of the Nazi-era past clouded the Germans’ ability to make crucial split-second decisions.
Olmert said he told Merkel that Israel has “absolutely no problem with German soldiers in southern Lebanon.”
“Why should German soldiers shoot at Israel? They would be part of the force protecting Israel,” Olmert was quoted as saying in the interview with the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
“There is at the moment no nation that is behaving in a more friendly way toward Israel than Germany,” he added. “If Germany can contribute to the security of the Israeli people, that would be a worthwhile task for your country. I would be very happy if Germany participated.
For many reasons, it probably won’t come to pass, but the fact that it has even been proposed shows just how much the world has changed.
