Here is the quoted statement made by President Köhler in an interview on May 21 or May 22 on his way back from visiting German troops in Afghanistan.
He was speaking in general terms, no longer about Afghanistan specifically. He had already expressed his support for the troops and said they were there to ensure the security of Germany. What followed this was what the German press jumped on and distorted:
"Meine Einschätzung ist aber, dass insgesamt wir auf dem Wege sind, doch auch in der Breite der Gesellschaft zu verstehen, dass ein Land unserer Größe mit dieser Außenhandelsorientierung und damit auch Außenhandelsabhängigkeit auch wissen muss, dass im Zweifel, im Notfall auch militärischer Einsatz notwendig ist, um unsere Interessen zu wahren, zum Beispiel freie Handelswege, zum Beispiel ganze regionale Instabilitäten zu verhindern, die mit Sicherheit dann auch auf unsere Chancen zurückschlagen negativ durch Handel, Arbeitsplätze und Einkommen. Alles das soll diskutiert werden und ich glaube, wir sind auf einem nicht so schlechten Weg."
"My assessment however is that in general we are moving toward [the realization], in fact coming to understand throughout society, that a country of our size with its focus on foreign trade and thus also dependence on foreign trade, also must know that in case of doubt, in an emergency, military action is necessary in order to safeguard our interests, for example [keeping] trade routes free, for example preventing regional instabilities, which are certain to have a negative impact on trade, jobs, and income. This should all be discussed and I think the start we have made is not bad.” (my translation)That is the complete version, with the omitted portions in bold. A bungled and shortened version of his statement is reported by the New York Times with all things apparently up to standard today, meaning they multiplied the misrepresentation. Here is the NY Times version, available as the full story at the beginning of this post:
“A country of our size,” he said, “with its focus on exports and thus reliance on foreign trade, must be aware that military deployments are necessary in an emergency to protect our interests, for example, when it comes to trade routes, for example, when it comes to preventing regional instabilities that could negatively influence our trade, jobs and incomes.”This version omits the previous sentence that people across society are coming to this realization, so the New York Time makes it sound like "people have to 'get it' and gain this awareness." That is grossly unfair. Especially if journalists repeat a mistake again in translation by not doing their homework. President Köhler was fulfilling his job and speaking in broad strokes, his only option for having an impact since his office enjoys no executive powers.
Now people are saying he was insulted. I beg to differ, he was more than insulted, he was made a target and misrepresented in a "soft blow" "hatchet job." This is a proven method of look-away mobbing and his response to silent mobbing while in office was appropriate, because his person and his high office were each maligned by "sins of omission."
I will remember his courage and feeling for others, on the Winnenden shootings, on the monstrous visage of short-term profiteering, which he decried in the most unequivocal terms and his deep interest in the destiny and circumstances of many people in Germany and especially Africa.
It seems a bit oversimplified for Germany's ARD to claim that Germans "don't understand" his resignation - the ease with which a publicly-financed broadcaster feels called upon to say what Germans think and pretend to be able to gauge this, even before it has sunk in, amounts to arrogance and presumptuousness. Even when their air time is paid for by the people, ARD has overstepped professional tenets and standards.
