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They are CURRENTLY nothing alike. But if you’re not seeing the possible trajectory of the current development of the German society you’re either ignorant or surprisingly naive.
Looking at current polls: Are you absolutely certain that Germany will remain a liberal democracy if the AfD—those Russian puppets—are in power? Right now, it seems as though that is the will of a significant number of voters.
The U.S. is also formally a liberal democracy, but you can read in the news every day just how much of that exists only on paper and how little the separation of powers actually functions there anymore. Personally, I wouldn’t want to defend such a system—which, at least as things stand now, seems to be on the horizon here as well—with my life.
When AfD advisors are even publicly speculating about a “clarification of hegemony between France and Germany,” alarm bells start ringing—at least for me. (Source: https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/usa-venezuela-afd-100.html)
Also this wasn’t about the normalization of Russia but about showing how ,We’re just defending ourselves against the evil enemy" can end you up on the front of a war of aggression pretty quickly. The US for itself has waged several wars of aggression in the last decades, all internally excused with ‘reasons of national security’.
Yes, and currently Russia is attacking a fellow democracy and threatening us with the same thing.
While Germany is definitely not heading the right way, the worst case scenario you are describing is not guaranteed and should not prohibit anyone from defending what we have now. It makes no sense.
The same applies to your worst case scenario of Russia attacking Germany. If I’m not mistaken Russia is currently losing a war with a (at the beginning of the conflict) third class army after burning through most of its amounted material in a war of attrition… with rather little territorial gains to show for it. Also a direct attack on Germany is improbable as Poland is highly armed neighbour between Russia and Germany.
So my counter question: Why are you, for your part, presenting an unrealistic worst-case scenario as an absolute necessity to defend Germany against a dictatorship?
Russia could still strike Germany with medium-range drones and missiles tomorrow, as part of an attack on NATO to test its resolve. Putin believes that NATO is weak, a house of cards that needs little more than a kick in its Eastern Flank and some strikes and/or provocations in its heartland (like Germany) for it to come down. This is very likely a mistaken assumption, but: An attack on NATO is believed to be highly likely within the next few years. Putin is preparing for a war against Europe, hoarding tanks and other equipment instead of sending them directly into Ukraine:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62v63gl8rvo
The above article is from last year, but NATO members have been increasingly warning of an impeding attack, including just a few days ago:
https://www.euractiv.com/news/russia-accused-of-planning-attacks-on-baltic-polish-infrastructure/
While Poland is strong and more than willing to fight, Germany would have to help its Eastern ally, as well as the Baltics and Finland defend themselves against a Russian invasion, which is where, among other things, our tanks come into place. We can’t wait until Russian forces are at the German border, in case Poland falls. Defending Germany would necessitate defending our allies directly. We would also likely be at the receiving end of drone and ballistic missile strikes.
Russia currently seems to be a dealer if misinformation high on his own supply. Which is also highlighted by the behavior of Russian troops when they first advanced into Ukrainian territory: They indeed believed to be welcomed as saviors… no sane army would have lined up their formations like that otherwise.
If Russia loses its war of aggression against Ukraine (and it looks that way, given that Ukraine is currently systematically destroying Russia’s oil industry—and thus the lifeblood of that country’s entire economy), speculating about whether Russia would be capable of attacking NATO becomes moot. Putin will then have to worry more about his own position than about Russia’s supposed strength.
But here are a few more lines of reasoning:
Even if Russia were to attack, it would never be militarily capable of sustaining a war against the NATO bloc (even without the U.S.). Russia may consider itself militarily superior… but economically, it is a dwarf by comparison and, following an attack, would never (especially not now) be able to replenish the manpower and supplies needed to wage—let alone win—a war.
Russia is waging hybrid warfare. Conventionally, it appears to be losing right now; unconventionally, it is achieving success in that more and more European democracies are being infiltrated by right-wing populists with Russia’s support. A strong national army in the hands of these people is far more dangerous to our peace than the Kremlin’s dwindling military strength.
Perhaps we can find a compromise:
A European army would stand for the continent’s shared values, and in this regard I would actually consider it sensible for us to defend “our better values” against other parts of the world. At the national level, however, I don’t see why a strong German army (with conscripts) should be necessary, unless, like Putin, one wants to return to 18th-century power politics on the continent. The European nations have spent centuries finding out where that leads, and it is definitely the wrong path for our future.