Timothy Garton Ash on the Stasi Link to Germany's "1968"

An interview in the Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung, a paper in Potsdam, the Berlin suburb. It's not very long, but he agrees that the Stasi identity of Karl-Heinz Kurass, the policeman who shot student Benno Ohnesorg in West Berlin, June 2, 1967 complicates the story of the heroic student resistance against the "fascist" Federal Republic. He warns against building a big conspiracy theory about Stasi influence in West Germany during the Cold War, but agrees that much is still unknown about it.

Finding a Bike Store

When I lived in Holland before leaving for the U.S., until 1988, I had a nice shop in Amsterdam. Cycles Brands (Javastraat) was a serious place where racers got their stuff. They were professional and courteous there, but as a beginning cyclist I also felt a little as if I had to earn my way in. I don't think I ever did (thinking of the cyclist I was back then, there were many, many things I still had to learn), but the memory of the kind of store it was (apparently they closed in 2002) has stayed with me. Since returning last year I have been to a few nice shops, but none that really made me feel I had found a replacement. But today on the Eendracht team ride, several guys needed to pick something up at a shop in the town of Soest (about 15 miles to the south and east of where I live in Nederhorst den Berg, in the opposite direction of Amsterdam), and now I may have resolved this particular little resettlement puzzle. (When you move to a new place, initially nothing is routine, you need to figure eveything out, from the best way to get to work, to stores, doctors--everything, and it's tiring. Once you have figured it out, you don't even realize this once was work, but this figuring-out stuff really does take energy). Hommes Wielersport is a small place (still--they're moving to a bigger place in the near future) and it's all about racing bikes, good ones. It is not, as one of the guys said on the way home, a clothing store with bikes, and neither is it a general bicycle store where they sell your average family utility bike. None of that stuff. They do have some clothing, but it's the good stuff. They build wheels, they sell their own frames (and a few other good brands)--they even sell glue for sew ups! I think that was the clincher (no pun intended), me just casually asking if perhaps he had glue, and then getting a choice of a jar (Continental, with brush--but too much for my purposes) or tube (Vittoria--just right). Hans Voorn runs the place now, and I'm wondering if he wasn't in that Masters crit I did over here seven years ago next week (the Ronde van Wijk bij Duurstede, where I only lasted seven laps and where the eventual winner was--he lapped me at least three times--former pro Johnny Broers). I'll look that up, and meanwhile consider myself a new customer at Hommes. I don't even have to hope if they'll have me, because Hans was extremely nice and welcoming. (I do look a hell of a lot sharper than twenty-some years ago, I have to say, with my Colnago, shaved legs, sew ups, and what have you).

1967/8 in Germany: More Complicated Than Many Thought

Germany's "1968" began in June of 1967 with the killing a student-demonstrator, Benno Ohnesorg, by a West Berlin policeman. The occasion was a demonstration against a visit by the Shah of Iran, the consequences a rapidly growing and radicalizing student movement determined to fight the "fascist" Federal Republic. Most historians link the rise of the terrorist Red Army Fraktion (RAF) directly to this event. Now it turns out that Karl-Heinz Kurass, the policeman who killed Ohnesorg, worked for the East German secret service (Stasi) and was a member of the ruling party, SED, of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). There's no evidence that he was acting on direct orders from East Berlin, but we can't be fully certain that he didn't, either. For the student-left at the time, and quite a few of their illustrous professors, the shooting was evidence of the oppressive nature of the West German state and its aggressive attitude toward dissent. Had it be known back then that Kurass worked for the German "wokers' paradise" located on the other side of the Berlin Wall, things might well have developed differently. But maybe not fundamentally. In any case, the case is an example of the extent of Stasi activities in the Federal Republic, for example its support of RAF members. Many are now arguing for more rapid and systematic work in the Stasi archives to learn more about all that, and one could argue that the role of the Stasi in the German-German relations during the Cold War remains an understudied area. The Stasi was good at what it did, even though it could not save the GDR or really destabilize the Federal Republic. About all the things it did, and with whose help in the West, we're likely to hear more in the near future.

The Added Value of the Internet

In the department of "duh," but it dawned on me today that when I was a student (a long, long time ago), you could not go on-line and read instant analysis of international events by people who only recently were in the policy making trenches themselves. There are many examples, but the piece I was reading was Philip Zelikow's discussion of the new North Korean provocations. (Zelikow was counselor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice until late 2006 and now contributes to Foreign Policy's "Shadow Government" blog). Having access to this kind of writing, and just as often as not it appears in blogs, is a qualitative difference with the old, print and tv/radio-only days. It's a quantitative difference too (there really is a lot of very useful stuff out there), so you have to learn to navigate the land of bookmarks and links efficiently. Because there's also a lot of crap out there, in addition you need to turn up your crititical thinking a notch or two. And eventually you need to worry about who pays for the critical sites, which are often linked to print publications (the answer here is: until adverstising pays all the bills--and who wants that much advertising?--appreciative readers had better do their part).

Sardinia - Human Powered Bikes Only, Please

It would really be better to say nothing at all, because there are already too many German-speaking motorcyclists who enjoy the smooth, curvy and rolling roads of Sardinia. And on Sundays the locals come out on their crotch rockets to join the fun. Their noise, smell, and threatening mass can really ruin a good ride, but so far it's been manageable. Last Sunday, between Alghero and Bosa, on one of the most beautiful stretches of road you can find on the island, it was the worst, but we still enjoyed the up-and-down along the Mediterranean. The way out, by way of Villenova Monteleone, had been as quiet and beautiful as always. The rains had stopped just hours before our arrival, and as a result the vegetation (wildflowers, all kinds of green stuff, tall prickly stuff) was particularly lush and fragrant all week. Upon returning to Bosa, there was some talk of riding all the way back to base camp for a real century, but just one magic word, "gelato," left the opening-day distance at 70 miles. Two consecutive rides in the interior brought fewer motorcycles and several opportunities for nice, steady climbing. The climb to Teti (from Olzai) is a comfortable 5 kilometers, which I did mostly in the 19. Climbs like that can make you feel you're quite a rider, but it would still be horrible to do it in a race. The longest climb of the week, through Desulo, runs for just about 14 kilometers, is steeper, and tends to take it out of you more, even if you ride just to get there. I used the 21 mostly, but needed to stand up quite a bit to keep it going. On this "Teti-Tetiana-Tonara" ride there's one more climb, through the town of Gavoi, but usually you'll have stopped for gelato in Fonni, so that's very doable. The Laconi ride takes some driving to get to, at least if you're staying in the Oristano area, but it's worth it. There's a very smooth, easy climb of 4 kilometers or so half-way between Laconi and Gadoni, and a harder one (but still very nice and, as always, beautiful) on the other side of Gadoni to Seulo. More climbing after what's probably the nicest downhill we know (toward Lago del Flumendosa), and then the up-and-down grind, usually into the wind, back to Laconi, by way of Isili. For a short rest day ride, you can ride toward Putzu Idu, and in the afternoon you can get into the Mediterranean. Floating in that cool, clear water after a couple of hot days on the bike in the hills is really something else. Another classic ride, usually the longest with the most climbing, runs from Guspini, through Arbus, toward Buggeru (and the most beautiful stretch we know). The hardest climbing we know is here, between Buggeru and Nebida, and you can also break 50 miles an hour on certain downhills--if you really have to. Then, after turning inland again, you get to the ugliest stretch we know (four miles we just can't avoid) toward Iglesias. After that, it's beautiful again, with a long, winding climb and equally long, widing downhill toward Fluminimaggiore. The temperature had reached the nineties in the meantime, which made it harder. There's more good climbing after Fluminimaggiore, then some miles of up-and-down, and then Arbus appears again, draped against the hill and pass that lead back to Guspini. 81 miles, which back in Guspini led to first four, then three more scoops of gelato. A perfect warm-up or cool-down ride runs gradually uphill from San Vero Milis, through Seneghe and Santu Lussurgiu up Monte Ferru, then down into Cuglieri, and if you're lucky there (we weren't that lucky this time), you have a tailwind on the ten downhill miles to Santa Caternia di Pittinuri. It was mid-90s again, and the last day, so after lunch in Cuglieri, we stopped for desert (four scoops) in Santa Caterina. After packing up the bikes, we made it back to the beach one more time. If you do go, stay here--as long as you realize that when you do, you won't able to decide which is the better part of your trip: the riding or the food.

On Hiatus - Off to Sardi

When you ask people like me about their dream vacation, the answer probably would go something like this: travel to a pretty, quiet place with reliably nice weather; ride your bike all day, every day, in good company; top every day off with a more than excellent meal. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to join the rest of the PMVC delegation in Sardinia this coming week for a week of exactly all this (the fourth time already). Cuglieri, Bosa, Alghero, Buggeru, Teti, Tonara, Laconi, Gilharza, and all the other places, and everything in between (to say nothing of the gelato at the end of the ride): it is now less than 24 hours away. I'll have things to say about it in a little over a week.

Obama's Rope-a-Dope on the Torture Photos?

That is what Andrew Sullivan, upon further reflection, has concluded. The president may not be so opposed to the release of the photos, but for political reasons (his overall effectiveness, his agenda) he'd rather oppose the release of the photos now and in the meantime let other processes (appeals, other legal cases) move things back in the direction of accountability for the torture regime under Bush. Those other forces may eventually create a situation where it will appear Obama has no choice but to go along with, say, a truth commission, or the release of said photos. This could be wishful thinking, or torture-centric thinking. That the United States systematically tortured prisoners is a big deal, of course, but it is, we can assume, the past. Meanwhile, Obama has his own agenda which he'd like to advance, and for everything the buck now stops at his desk (including renewed anger at the U.S. in the muslim world, a surge in recruitment for Al Qaeda and similar groups). It would not be the first time in history that rather than strictly following principle, a leader allows more pragmatic considerations to guide his actions. Of course, it's also possible that Obama hasn't really made up his mind about whether or how to move toward some kind of accounting over the torture episode. But that, too, would be pragamatism at work.

How to Judge Obama's Reversal on the Prisoner Photo's

Andrew Sullivan is increasingly unhappy, especially because you could detect a pattern in the president's decisions here lately. It's true, as Sullivan and others say, that Obama increasingly "owns" this problem. The thing is, he owns everything connected to it, including the possible effects of the release of a new batch of prisoner abuse, torture, photographs. Accountability for those who ordered, justified, and committed these acts is an important aspect, but it's not the only one. How do you balance the need for accountability at home with the risk of newly inflamed anti-American sentiments around the world, a surge in Al Qaeda recruiting, and yes, possible retaliation against U.S. troops, especially those captured?

Balancing the Commutes with the Weekends

Take this week: Last weekend two solid rides within a 24 hour period with the most big ring work of the entire year. Then two days of nothing, then three consecutive days of somewhat unusual commutes: Wednesday on the way home I drafted for a few miles behind a guy out on a training ride. That was work, with my 28-wide tires, backpack, seat post rack, and fenders. Speaking of fenders, on Thursday the front one (with mudflap attached) got cracked in a fierce cross-wind gust. I had to take the thing off, tried to bring it home in one piece, but other than holding it in my hand the whole way (which I didn't do), there was no way to do that. I learned that in Weesp when the bottom part fell off the rack, where I had strapped it on top of my gear. Now I have to see what a combination of Gorilla glue and duct tape can do for me. The next day, riding through the same gusty cross-winds, I discovered that not having the mudflap catching all that air down there makes a significant difference. So I guess I'll have to put the front fender back on, because a mudflap makes you stronger. It doesn't necessarily make you smarter, as I demonstrated Friday afternoon. Seeing some rain approaching from the West on the radar, I scrambled out of my office around 3 pm, hoping to make it home before the rain started. I should have know I was too late (a critical look at the skies would have confirmed this) and I should also have been able to predict that this storm was going to be over with in an hour or two. So I got blown around and rained on, and about half an hour after getting home the skies were blue again. Yesterday I felt like having a rest day, so no Eendracht ride. Today, on the Whisper Power ride, the legs were so-so. We rode through clouds of bugs alongside the Gooimeer (farmers these days take out the nests of the birds that used to eat most of them), then Eemnes, to Lage Vuursche, and back the regular coffee ride route. Just like during the special Port Washington edition of the Dutch coffee ride two weeks ago, the old guy and his wife on their tandem made an appearance also. Although he did look over, I can't really say that he stared. Of course, I wasn't wearing my balaclava any more. So the legs aren't bad, but I still am only beginning to learn how to balance the commutes with the rest of my riding. It's clear that even with just three days out of five, you can get tired riding to work.

About Those Imminent Prisoner Abuse Photos

The Wall Street Journal gives another perspective on the coming (May 28) release of a new batch of photographs documenting prisoner abuse in U.S.-run prisons in Iraq and elsewhere during the "war on terror":

The real problem with releasing these photos begins with the likelihood that they will extract a toll on vital American interests, like getting better cooperation from Pakistan in the fight against the Taliban. More seriously, it also includes the possibility that they will extract a toll in American lives.

The full editorial is here. It is a serious point, but of course the paper also wants this issue to go away. It does not want investigations that may show that the abuse, torture, under Bush was widespread, indeed systematic and ordered from up high. There are other interests in Washington with a stake in preventing a thorough revisiting of how this happened: Obama would rather prevent what will amount to a small civil war if prosecutions of top Bush officials went forward; the Democratic leadership in Congress isn't eager for its apparent complicity (at least: lack of resistance) to be exposed fully; and something similar goes for the mainstream press.

Back to Commuting

We had a string of holidays the past week, so this morning was my first commute in a week. More normal spring weather has also returned. When I walked into our bathroom this morning, the rain was hammering the window. But the radar suggested that this was just the last gasp of a band of early morning showers, and when I got outside around 8:45 it was practically dry, which restored some of my faith in the reliability of the buienradar. I was wearing my SIDI winter shoes, just in case the roads were be very wet or I'd run into a stray shower, but I would have been fine without them. The wind was still there, but my route never goes in the same direction for very long, so it wasn't a real problem. Better legs this time of year also help. So everything was in order: virtually no traffic riding along the Vecht river; nothing much happening in Weesp; the usual boat traffic on the Amsterdam Rijnkanaal; easy approach to my Wednesday office near the IJtunnel through Amsterdam's Eastern business district. A thirty-mile day, and they can't take that away.

Another One

Whether this still counts as having something to say (the premise behind this blog) I myself am beginning to doubt, but the Nederlands Dagblad today also published my piece (in Dutch). If you don't read Dutch, there's a different photo to look at, something not nearly as shocking as we're likely to get from the Pentagon later this month.

Keep Reading My Torture Legacy Piece

Versions have now also appeared in de Gelderlander, and in BN-de Stem (in Dutch). Most of the papers so far have kept a version of my title: America confronts its demons. Last time I heard, the Pentagon will release a batch of prisoner abuse photographs on May 28; the confronting will intensify then, if not before.

24 Hours - Two Rides

Just like last weekend, only this time fewer miles. Yesterday afternoon I joined four other Eendracht members (payed my dues last week, so I'm in the club now) for a 45 miler. Shorter than normally on these Saturdays, but there were several sections where I had to dig deeper, and push a bigger gear, than at any time this year just to hold the wheel. The wheel was that of Leon Schouten, who has been racing all spring and just last week got a very nice second place in a big race in Amsterdam. On one short section, he came around and as I got on his wheel I saw him put the chain on the twelve. Then he cranked it all the way up to 32 m/h, and I was happy that it was just a short section. It was the second time we separated ourselves from the other three, but I really had nothing to do with it. This morning I did manage to come out for the Whisper Power ride, together with just two other guys. Legs didn't feel so eager, but the pace was just manageable: right around 20 on the way out, into the wind; and around 24 after the coffee stop in Nieuwkoop, assisted by a nice tailwind. An added incentive to ride home fast was that it had started to rain. That too was manageable.

Glass Half Full: America and Europe

A former student, now at a different university, wrote with five questions for a class on United States - European Union relations. Rather than replying just to him, I'm going to get a posting out of it. Come along if you want, but you buy the first round. Let's get going.

1). How do you see the relations between the US and the EU? What are the most important factors in determining these relations?
Even though the relationship is complicated and even tense at times, this is still mostly a relationship of close partners. Many EU members are also NATO members, which also makes them allies of the U.S. Economically, U.S. and European firms are competitors, and sometimes government policies go over the line in trying to protect domestic industries (see respective farm policies, for example), but there are also huge investments going both ways, shared ownership, and other kinds of economic partnerships. So I believe the notion of a "West" (consisting also, for example, of Australia) still has some meaning here. This goes even more for the security relationship, in spite of differences over ties with Russia, and in spite of European reluctance to contribute a lot of troops in either Iraq or Afghanistan. There's much more which unites the U.S. and the E.U. than divides them.

2).Do you think the open door policy (eco and political) is an important factor in US foreign policy. What are the US strategies in Europe (strategic and economic) Are these compatible with EU aims?
The United States has traditionally benefited from the spread of liberal democracy and its flourishing around the world and certainly since the late 19th century (when the term Open Door was coined) Washington has devised policies aimed to help liberal democracy along. One could argue that America's three 20th century interventions in Europe were primarily to prevent domination of the continent by a power (Imperial Germany, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union) with a system alien, even hostile, to that of the U.S. In today's world, Europe for Washington is an easy one, relatively speaking. Europeans are much more inclined toward government intervention in the economy than Americans and in general seek stability much more than opportunity, but both sides practice variations of market capitalism and will remain vital markets for each other. Americans may at times lament a lack of dynamism in Europe, and maybe also the inability of "Brussels" to take quick and effective decisions, but certainly today Europeans would (and do) have plenty of criticism to throw back at the U.S. Certainly since Barack Obama came to office, both sides have chosen to emphasize joint interests and policies, which is a smart thing to do.

3. Has the US policy vis-à-vis EU been constant or have these changed? (What would be watersheds: Gaullism, end of the Cold War, German unification, Iraq war, financial crises?)
Europe, or the E.U. has been Washington's primary partner since 1945, in spite of Gaullism (a French policy to distance itself and Europe from the U.S. and Britain) and in spite of differences in the 1970s and early 1980s over detente. A real watershed was the end of the Cold War, because the Soviet challenge, a major tie that bound the Atlantic partners together, evaporated. U.S. interests and attention, which have always been global, became less focused on Europe while Europe became more inner-oriented, focusing on E.U. expansion to the East, for example. But incorporation of former members of the Warsaw Pact (also with NATO) was very much supported by the U.S. The Balkan wars of the 1990s showed how little had changed perhaps, as the U.S. was still needed to bring peace to the old continent. Since 2001, Washington would really like the E.U., certainly its NATO members, to assume a greater role globally (Afghanistan, for example). Given the divisions inside the E.U., the organization's cumbersome decisionmaking process, and especially its inability to speak with a single voice internationally, Americans might get frustrated with "Europe." However, if you look at European participation in the NATO task force against the Somali pirates, and European peacekeeping roles in many other places, among other things, perhaps it's better to see the glass as half full. It is certain that the U.S. would have an ever harder time as the world's only global power promoting Western interests and values, if Europe didn't pitch in the way it does.

4. What do you think is the future of NATO? Will the American stay in Europe with troops? Does the old quip keep Russians out, Germans down and us in still count?
People write entire books about this, as you probably know. NATO will endure, even though there will continue to be people who question its reason to exist. But ask people in Eastern and Central Europe if there no Russian influence any more that needs to be contained. Smart Europeans, those who remember the Balkan wars of the 1990s, will want to keep the U.S. committed to peace and security in Europe also. The German "question," if it still exists, is much, much lower on the agenda today. The problem with Germany today may rather be that its population is so unwilling to accept that certain problems in the world today do still require a military approach. (But let's not forget German intelligence cooperation with the U.S. and others against Al Qaida). The U.S. is a global power, and Europe remains a region of vital interest for Washington. The U.S. expects the Europeans to do more on their own, especially within Europe, but it will always maintain a solid presence on the continent.

5. Do you think it likely that EU will develop a common defense? Will the US see this as a threat?
There's another book. The first couple of chapters would discuss how this is an old discussion and how the Europeans just don't seem to be able to do it. It's not really necessary; or, it's unrealistic to expect respective European countries (large and small) to give up more sovereignty than they already have in creating the E.U. More important is for individual European countries (electorates) to see the need for continued singificant military spending. Coordination and collaboration, which of course is indispensable, can take place within NATO structures. Presumably, this is one justification for the otherwise controversial NATO expansion to the East: not just, or primarily, to keep Russian influence at bay, but also to promote a stronger, coordinated international role for "Europe." If "Europe" manages to do this, the U.S. will not only welcome it (it will be much preferable to watching the Europeans continuing to waste energy on the elusive common foreign and defense policies), it will discover that it is needed to help this process along, the way Washington in the past has helped Europeans bury their differences and focus on common tasks.

My Op-Ed on the Torture Mess

We did the beautiful drive from Nederhorst den Berg to Wolvega, province of Friesland, today (highpoint: the Kuinre area, where the old land used to meet the sea--now it looks out over the Noordoostpolder). At our friends' house there was today's Leeuwarder Courant, with my op-ed in it. The paper doesn't have it on its site, but the Eindhovens Dagblad does (in Dutch).