German weekly magazine Der Spiegel wrote last Thursday that the American people aren’t that concerned with whether the country will assist the U.S. in its “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran by accompanying merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Der Spiegel chief correspondent Roland Nelles mocked Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, for suggesting the country help the U.S. and other countries that have agreed to join what was previously known as Operation Sentinel.
Nelles began by quoting Grenell as saying: “What we want, what the American people want, is a clear commitment by the German people to support the West.” He went on to suggest the American people don’t care whether Germany participates or not, suggesting Grenell’s statement was “big drama”:
In truth, “the American people” – at least for the moment – should not care much about whether or not Germany participates in the Iran mission. Contrary to Grenell’s suggestion, the German attitude in matters of sea-mission in the USA has so far been practically no issue at all. At most, a few smaller messages have made it so far in the US media. Of course, the Trump government in Washington looks to Berlin. But the “population” quoted by Grenell talks about the Democrats’ TV debate or about the change of baseball player Zack Greinke to the Houston Astros.
The situation in the Strait of Hormuz may not be the most talked about issue in America, but that doesn’t mean the American people aren’t concerned with whether our European allies are assisting with our foreign policy tactics.
Germany has so far refused to join the U.S.-led mission in the Strait of Hormuz, with the country’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas justifying the decision by saying the German government does not agree with America’s tactics against Iran. Maas said, according to another Der Spiegel article, that Germany would rather continue to focus on diplomacy rather than military escalation.
On Monday, Politico reported that Britain is joining the effort and taking a “leading role” in the mission. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said over the weekend that he was mindful of why other countries would be hesitant to join the effort.
“Nobody wants to be drawn into conflict with Iran,” he said.
Grenell sees something else. He called out Germany for failing to pay its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) obligations.
“We have made clear that meeting the NATO obligation of paying 2% of your GDP for defense is important for the largest economy in Europe,” Grenell told The Daily Wire. “There is lots of talk in Europe about multilateralism but I can’t think of a more successful multilateral organization than NATO.”
Grenell has been at odds with Der Spiegel before. Earlier this week, Grenell criticized the magazine for its portrayal of Jews in a recent article. In December, Grenell called for an investigation into the media outlet after Der Spiegel reporter Claas Relotius admitted to making up more than a dozen articles critical of America. Deutsche Welle reported that Relotius invented people, quotes, and large portions of his stories.