(Own report) - With the ongoing Syrian military successes, discussion in Berlin and other western capitals is focusing more on a possible breakup of Syria's national territory. Syria has already been dissected into three parts, according to foreign policy experts in Washington: Whereas the Assad government is seeking to consolidate its control over Syria's center and the coastal strip, Sunni and often Islamist-oriented insurgents are in control of large areas in the East and the North of the country. The Kurdish dominated areas to the northeast comprise the third region. The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) is proposing that Syria's division be approved. Referring to an "expert" on Turkish foreign policy, the SWP estimates that, in the long run, the Kurdish speaking regions of Syria and Iraq could be integrated into a "federalized" Turkey. The 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement's political configuration of the Middle East is, therefore, facing dissolution. A new political configuration would allow the establishment of a "secular Sunni counterweight in opposition to a Shiite arc" (Iran and its allies) in the Middle East. The SWP recommends "making every effort" to support negotiations between Turkey and Kurdish organizations toward this objective.

(Own report) - In the run-up to this weekend's annual "Sudeten German Convention," the Bavarian regional government has announced the introduction of a memorial day in commemoration of German resettlement. Beginning 2014, the second Sunday in September will annually be dedicated to the commemoration of the German victims of "flight, expulsion and deportation" as a result of the Second World War. The designation of this memorial day is one of the German political establishment's measures, to seek to embed the notion that the resettlement was "an injustice" in the mindset of future generations. Based on this - historically erroneous - opinion, Germany can raise advantageous political claims vis à vis Eastern and Southeastern European countries. Besides the creation of a memorial day, Bavaria is also supporting, with 20 million Euros, the establishment of a "Sudeten German Museum" in Munich. The German Bundestag has earmarked another 10 million Euros to the project. An exposition, which could serve as the centerpiece of the museum, put the legitimacy of the founding of Czechoslovakia into question, using controversial quotes from Nazi sources. The Bavarian prime minister will be honored, with a Sudeten German Homeland Association award at Sunday's events for his support of the "expellees."

(Own report) - The German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) is propagating in favor of the deployment of combat drones. The influential think tank, headquartered in Berlin, has published an opinion poll indicating that more than two-thirds of the German population are in favor of using Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles or UCAVs in warfare. The results of this poll can be found in the current edition of "Internationale Politik," the journal published by the DGAP. The journal extensively treats the subject - with an unambiguous tenor: UCAV development is characterized as an "enormous technological leap" that the German armed forces cannot evade. The authors consider the construction of combat drones, which, based on artificial intelligence can quasi "autonomously" carry out killer functions without human intervention, to be a "logical consequence." The PR campaign, launched by the DGAP, accords with the German government's intention to increase the reliance on UCAVs in future wars.

(Own report) - The EU crisis is causing a serious weakening of the EU's foreign policy, concluded a recent study published by the Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin. Not only are the member states' financial outlays for foreign and military activities clearly diminishing, due to leeway shrinkage caused by budget cuts, but "conflicts between member states have grown" around how to handle the crisis, according to the SWP. This has stifled "joint foreign policy initiatives." The think tank points out that the enduring crisis and the hard-line German austerity dictate have damaged the prestige of the EU and, therefore, also severely tarnished its global "soft power." Particularly damaging are the cuts in the military sector, even ranging up to 30 percent reductions in defense spending of the smaller and medium sized EU countries, jeopardizing their long term capability of participation in EU wars. The option of instrumentalizing a common EU foreign and military policy, to reinforce German clout and eventually promote it to world power status, had always been an important motive in Berlin for the buildup and development of the EU.

(Own report) - In the prelude to an EU "mission" to Libya, German government advisors are insisting on stronger German engagement in that country. The country is socially highly fractured and "instable," according to a recent study published by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). Many militias are still in tact, with no central command structure, and with some waging fierce battles against others. These conditions are not in Germany's economic and security policy interests. In fact, not only are there anti-western Islamist militias operating on Libyan territory, who have extended their range of activities to Northern Mali and Algeria, constituting a long term threat to western hegemony over the area. The country has, at the same time, resumed being Germany's largest non-European oil supplier, and thereby, taken on a prominent significance in Germany's energy policy. The BASF subsidiary Wintershall, with headquarters in Kassel, produces a major portion of its oil in Libya, and is interested in taking over RWE Dea, also active in Libya. Battles between rival militias caused an interruption of Wintershall's production already last year.

(Own report) - The German Foreign Ministry is strengthening Berlin's anti-China position in Southeast Asia, through a new training program for employees of several of Myanmar's ministries. If one seeks to "roll back" the influence of the People's Republic of China, Myanmar is "a very interesting partner," affirmed a specialist on Southeast Asia at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin. The German government is expanding cooperation with that country accordingly, and in addition to broadening cooperation on political projects, seeks particularly to enhance its economic influence. The EU recently lifted the economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar due also to German pressure. The German Ministry of the Economy is supporting new business deals. Critics' indications that the economic opening of the country serves western enterprises and the local elite in the entourage of its military rulers, have as little effect as the human rights organizations' protests, accusing the government in Naypyidaw of tolerating pogroms against the Muslim minority. They have been demanding - to no avail - that the EU take appropriate measures.

(Own report) - German specialists in foreign policy are expressing their misgivings about Berlin's intensive cooperation with the Arabian dictatorships at the Gulf, particularly with Qatar. According to a recent analysis published by the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), this cooperation could prove useful on an economic level. However, on a political level, it should be taken into consideration that, until now, Qatar has proven extremely resistant to outside influence. This is not only the case of Berlin and Brussels' aspiration of concluding a free trade agreement with the Gulf States, but also in questions of human rights and of embedding the population using parliamentary democracy. The GIGA analysis points out that even the Qatari ruling clan does not exclude the possibility of domestic upheavals on a long term - and therefore refuses to sign international human rights agreements. The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) also points to the limits of shoring up repressive regimes, as had become evident, most recently, during the overthrow of the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt. According to the SWP, the Bahraini opposition's repression - which is supported by Qatar - runs the risk, sooner or later, of seeing the local unrest spreading to other countries, particularly to Saudi Arabia - with serious consequences. Berlin, however, is supporting this repression with its delivery of tanks to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

(Own report) - The German government is reinforcing its insistence that state structures be rapidly established in the rebel-controlled regions of Syria. The "moderate forces" of these regions must be strengthened and the "reconstruction" advanced with determination, the Foreign Ministry declared. This is particularly in response to the growing influence of the fanatical Islamist militias, such as Jabhat al Nusra, an alliance with ties to al Qaeda in Iraq. The close ties to that neighboring country facilitate Jabhat al Nusra's control over a majority of Syria's oil reserves, which, to a large extent, are located near the border with Iraq. According to reports, this fanatical Islamist militia is financing itself to a growing extent through the exploitation of oil deposits, which other militia groups of Syrian insurgents are now also trying to gain control. The EU's recent decision to lift the embargo on Syrian oil from the non-Islamist, "moderate" insurgent groups is designed to strengthen the standing of these factions in their opposition to Jabhat al Nusra and similar alliances. However, this will further fuel the civil war between the rebel groups.

(Own report) - Berlin's main think tank for military policy has announced "war game exercises" for military confrontations with China. This year's "Trier China-Dialogue," to be convened in Berlin at the beginning of June by the Federal College for Security Studies, will focus on analyzing the "combat capabilities" of the Chinese armed forces. The forum will be concluded with two "hypothetical practical tests," to learn whether the Peoples Republic of China's military can "take over" and "hold onto" Taiwan or islands in the South China Sea. The conflict with Taiwan, as well as that over various islands in the South China Sea, impinges upon China's vital interests. In both cases, the USA has adopted the position of China's adversary as its own, therefore, in the case of armed conflict, NATO - and therefore, the rest of the West - could become directly involved. A supplementary objective for the "war game exercises" is the West's rapidly expanding military presence in east and Southeast Asia. In the wake of the stationing of US troops, Germany is also strengthening its military cooperation with China's potential adversaries in Southeast Asia and intensifying arms exports into the region.

(Own report) - Tensions, between the German government and several countries victimized by Nazi crimes, are casting a shadow over the commemorations of the mass deportations and murders carried out during "Operation Reinhard" seventy years ago. In 1942 - 43, the Nazis murdered within the framework of "Operation Reinhard" around two million west and east European prisoners in the Treblinka, Chelmno, Majdanek, Bełżec, and Sobibór extermination camps. In Sobibór, alone, by July 1943, the Nazi terror regime had murdered more than 34,000 Dutch Jews, including German emigrants. By early January, Berlin had still refused to contribute to the costs of this year's scheduled Sobibór memorial services of the Netherlands, Slovakia, Israel, and Poland. Berlin also does not intend to contribute to covering the costs of the other "Reinhard" memorial sites. As its proprietor, the German government is allowing the Deutsche Bahn AG to charge tariffs for the commemorations of the Sobibór victims. A citizens' initiative seeking to hold commemorations at stations along the route of deportation, in May and June, for those who were murdered must expect to pay the costs. This financial "boycott" is reportedly in concert with the German Ministry of Transport, under CSU minister Ramsauer, according to a press statement by the "Train of Commemoration." The citizens' initiative is appealing for donations to commemorate the victims of Sobibór at several German train stations.