TIROLER TAGESZEITUNG, editorial: “Retrofitting society”, by Wolfgang Sablatnig

2024-01-29 23:42:16

Edition from Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Innsbruck (OTS) – “Capable of war”: When a general says this word in seemingly neutral, peaceful Austria, it makes you sit up and take notice. But he only expresses a reality that everyone has to face, regardless of what they think about the military and politics.

New times have dawned in the armed forces. The non-party interim Defense Minister Thomas Starlinger received incredulous looks when he demanded billions for defense. But since the Russian attack on Ukraine almost two years ago, it can’t be enough. The shopping list is long, including long-range missiles as part of the “European Sky Shield”.
Nevertheless, there are statements that make you sit up and take notice – like this one from Deputy Chief of the General Staff Günter Hofbauer: “It’s about making the Federal Army capable of war again,” he said yesterday at a Defense Ministry event. As head of planning, the major general has been working on war capability for months. When spoken publicly, the words have more impact.
An upgrade of words? More of a retrofit. And the surprise effect makes it clear that the new times have not yet arrived in society. There is war in Ukraine, as well as in the Gaza Strip. Tensions in the Western Balkans are increasing. Many countries in Africa cannot calm down.
And society? The key words are comprehensive national defense and spiritual national defense. What this means is that it is not just the military who are responsible for security, but each and every individual in the country. However, the world’s crises only become widely known when the Houthis in Yemen disrupt international supply chains and prices rise in response to the Gaza war.
Society needs to be retrofitted. No “to war with hooray”, but a realistic look at the surroundings near and far. Nobody is interested in war, tension and unrest. However, closing one’s eyes to this reality, perhaps even by pointing to neutrality, only conveys an apparent and deceptive security.
The good times with the hope of peaceful developments everywhere are over, at least for the time being. Unfortunately.