🎙️ In this powerful interview with Judge Andrew Napolitano, renowned analyst Prof. Gilbert Doctorow breaks down Germany’s role on May 9th — a day filled with historical weight and modern geopolitical consequences. 🕊️⚔️
What does Germany’s silence or stance on this day mean in the context of rising East-West tensions?
🔍 Topics covered:
🇩🇪 Germany’s historic and current position in global politics
🌍 The symbolism of May 9th in Russia & Europe
⚖️ What it means for NATO, EU, and global diplomacy
📢 Don’t miss this rare and insightful conversation that cuts through the mainstream narrative.
✅ Like, comment, and subscribe for more uncensored geopolitical thought.
#GilbertDoctorow
#JudgeNapolitano
#May9th
#GermanyPolitics
#RussiaVictoryDay
#Geopolitics2025
#UncensoredAnalysis
#EastWestTensions
#NATOPolitics
#EUForeignPolicy
#WorldWarHistory
#GermanyRussia
#WWIIAnniversary
#RTInterviews
#WesternNarrative
#AlternativeMedia
#InternationalRelations
#TruthMedia
#EuropeanPolitics
#GeopoliticalInsights
What does Germany’s silence or stance on this day mean in the context of rising East-West tensions?
🔍 Topics covered:
🇩🇪 Germany’s historic and current position in global politics
🌍 The symbolism of May 9th in Russia & Europe
⚖️ What it means for NATO, EU, and global diplomacy
📢 Don’t miss this rare and insightful conversation that cuts through the mainstream narrative.
✅ Like, comment, and subscribe for more uncensored geopolitical thought.
#GilbertDoctorow
#JudgeNapolitano
#May9th
#GermanyPolitics
#RussiaVictoryDay
#Geopolitics2025
#UncensoredAnalysis
#EastWestTensions
#NATOPolitics
#EUForeignPolicy
#WorldWarHistory
#GermanyRussia
#WWIIAnniversary
#RTInterviews
#WesternNarrative
#AlternativeMedia
#InternationalRelations
#TruthMedia
#EuropeanPolitics
#GeopoliticalInsights
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00Transcribed by —
00:30Hi, everyone. Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom. Today is Thursday, April 17, 2025. Professor Gilbert Doctorow joins us now. Professor Doctorow, welcome here.
00:45You have a fascinating piece out about Germany and May 9 and the significance of all of it. But before we get there, and we will, a couple of other questions.
00:57So you have a feeling from your position in Brussels that the neocons around President Trump are ascendant.
01:11We have a feeling here in Brussels that the neocons, domestic neocons in Europe, are ascendant also. So the problem is not just the Washington issue.
01:23But if you meant by the neocons, the hardliner people within Trump's circle, that is Rubio and Kellogg. And yes, the Russians are certainly aware of that. I'm aware of that.
01:40But to say their ascendant, I think, is an exaggeration. The problems that we see that the Russians have identified very clearly in the last few days is Trump's ability and willingness to do what is necessary to put through his agenda.
01:59I think a lot of people here were struck by his wobbling and by his backtracking on his chaotically introduced tariffs that put in question his ability to negotiate.
02:15Well, back to the neocons, and maybe ascendant is too strong a word. The Wall Street Journal reports that they have his ear.
02:30Reluctant to have his ear in their promoting their neocon ways until recently.
02:39Max Blumenthal, who will be on shortly after you, reports that the dismissals at the Pentagon, which have shaken it up mightily, were caused by a leak to the New York Times of the neocons being ascendant and breaking
02:59with the America Firsters and that, shockingly, Secretary Hegseth was not among the neocons, that he was urging the president to tell Prime Minister Netanyahu not to attack Iran.
03:15I don't want to get too into the weeds, but is Donald Trump perceived in Europe as being on both sides of these issues, a man of peace and a man of war at the same time?
03:31Oh, very definitely. There's a lot of confusion, and there's reason for the confusion.
03:36As I mentioned a moment ago, his wobbling has caused a lot of uncertainty about where he really stands and how tough he's going to fight for the initiatives that he rolled out in the first days of his presidency.
03:54That remains the case. That is true in Europe, for sure. Look, he was saying there are all indications that he's backing away from NATO.
04:03And then it was yesterday or the day before, there's the announcement that after all, America is sending 5000 troops to the new forthcoming NATO exercises.
04:14So whether it is neocons who are influencing him or other factors, he is not pursuing a clearly defined policy and he reverses himself, which is not good for him and not good for his eventual success.
04:31As you read the American neocons, do they want the war in Ukraine to end or they want it to continue?
04:39Oh, they want it to continue. And this they are definitely the natural allies of the Europeans who have their own reasons for wanting the war to continue because they are in the ascendant.
04:55They have staked their careers on this and they are looking for the hostile Russia as a unifying factor in an otherwise crumbling European Union.
05:07You and almost everyone on this show has been very have been very critical of Sir Keir Stormer and French President Macron in their efforts to cobble together.
05:26This is a totally discredited Bush Cheney phrase, but why they're using it, I don't know, coalition of the willing.
05:35Is a new partner about to join that effort coming from Berlin?
05:45Join the effort? I'm not sure that is the proper way to look at it.
05:50These two, they also have their own competition. Who is going to be the top dog?
05:56Who is the one who is going to be the most important defense authority in Europe?
06:02That is Sir Starmer and Macron. They are vying, they're competing for that title.
06:07At the same time, the German incoming chancellor is not making common cause with them.
06:15He is in the same competitive situation, trying to position Germany and himself as the leaders, the dominant force in Europe's coming defense.
06:26And he's doing it by building on the very aggressive, belligerent statements towards Russia that he used as part of his electoral campaign.
06:38You have referred to Frederick Mertz, and I quote, as the most dangerous German leader since Adolf Hitler, a very, very serious statement.
06:49What did you mean by that? And why did you say it?
06:52Well, first of all, I don't think he had too much competition for that role as a German.
06:57Okay. Look at who he's replacing. Look at who he's succeeding.
07:03A person who can barely get words out of his mouth. Go ahead.
07:06Yes, he had mealy-mouthed people who have put Germany in risky positions.
07:13And here he is, by his belligerence towards Russia and by his obvious willingness to take on risks that his predecessor,
07:27or soon-to-be predecessor, Schultz, refused to take on.
07:31Namely, giving the Ukrainians the cruise missiles that they have longed for.
07:40This is the Taurus, which is an air-launched missile that the Russians have little or no experience combating.
07:50And so at the outset, should it be in the hands of the Ukrainians, it could indeed do some damage where the previous long range missiles,
08:00either coming from the States or mostly from Britain and France, the scalp and the storm shadow.
08:07The Russians mastered those, found ways of neutralizing them.
08:12But the Taurus could be dangerous.
08:14And just speaking about sending Taurus to Ukraine, the numbers, let's go to the numbers.
08:21Germany has 600 of these in stock.
08:24It was being discussed as shipping 160 to Ukraine.
08:28Shipping them is only the beginning of the task.
08:34The reason why, as we all know, the reason why Schultz refused to give the Taurus to Ukraine was his knowledge from senior,
08:45from leaked conversations between senior German Air Force officers that this product was usable only if it were programmed and controlled by the German manufacturer and German personnel.
09:03And that would expose Germany to the charges of being a co-bligent.
09:07So who refused?
09:08Mr. Metz is ignoring this completely.
09:12I mean, does he does he want a war with Russia?
09:16Can Germany afford the consequences of becoming a co-belligerent?
09:22I mean, the United States is already a co-belligerent.
09:25And the Russians have been extremely restrained under international law.
09:30I hate to say this, the Russians could attack Miami if they wanted.
09:33But but doesn't Mertz fear the consequence of becoming a co-belligerent?
09:40Well, the risks have changed over time.
09:45The coming to power of Donald Trump and the new doubts about the United States willingness to defend its NATO arise, that changes the equation.
09:58And frankly, it is stunning that Mertz doesn't recognize this.
10:06The as you've just mentioned, the Russians had the legal basis for attacking the United States in response to its co-belligerent status, its direct intervention in the Ukraine war by the intelligence and by the programming of its missiles that it has done for Kiev.
10:27Now, the situation presently is that Germany, by supplying such equipment and necessarily providing the hands on control of this equipment of its own officers and manufacturers, would be taking the risk of a Russian counterstrike on Germany itself.
10:47And the notion that the article five would be invoked and would be responded to positively is a very risky proposition today.
10:58Somehow Mertz has not seen that.
11:01And so he is waving a red flag.
11:04It gets worse.
11:05Not just would they supply these hundred and sixty towers to to Ukraine, but they are recommending that Ukraine use this to talk to target the Kerch Bridge.
11:19That is the bridge that links mainland Russia with the peninsula of Crimea.
11:27That's a billion dollar bridge.
11:29Yes, and other vital infrastructure that supports the Russian logistics for the war, saying this could change the dynamics of the war in Ukraine's favor.
11:43That he says this publicly is remarkable that his father fought within the German armies and was a Nazi supporter, has been called up by the Russians in response to what they see as provocative and totally irresponsible statements coming from the incoming chancellor.
12:06Back to Starmer and Macron.
12:13Do they have the financial resources to achieve what they're trying to put together?
12:20The coalition of the willing would only make sense from their perspective if there were military assets involved.
12:28Do they have them?
12:30It would make sense if they had willing.
12:33Apparently they don't have any willing other than the two of them.
12:37The British have no military of which to speak.
12:39I'm not familiar with what the French have.
12:41You can educate us.
12:42But where are they going with this?
12:45I suppose we have to add the Princess von der Leyen to all of this.
12:51She doesn't have a military either, but she'd love nothing more than to be, correct me if I'm wrong, Professor, the commander in chief of the European armies, wouldn't she?
13:02Well, she's a cheerleader, but the two of them are not completely alone.
13:06They have three other European member states that have joined the coalition of the willing.
13:12Regrettably, for military value, when you add all three together, you come up with zero.
13:18I'm speaking about the three Baltic states.
13:20The total population of all three of them is probably under 4 million or closer to 5 million.
13:28But their armies are negligible.
13:30We're speaking about the equivalent of police forces.
13:33They have nothing to contribute.
13:35Where is it going to go then?
13:40Nowhere.
13:41The effort to assemble the coalition of the willing, they're going to fall flat on their faces.
13:48Maybe that's why President Macron is talking about recognizing a Palestinian state, getting the public's mind off of whatever he's trying to accomplish in Ukraine.
14:02Well, he has his own ambitions still in Ukraine.
14:06And the ambitions of Macron, to a lesser extent, those of Starmer are focused on when the city is Odessa.
14:15And as for the French, it is a certain nostalgia.
14:22Let's remember that the first mayor of the city of Odessa in the late 18th century was a certain Duke de Richelieu, a French Duke.
14:33And there's a monument to him in downtown Odessa.
14:37So there is a certain claim that the French have for being protectors, shall we say, of Odessa.
14:46For the British, it's much more practical.
14:48Odessa is a staging ground for their activities in the Black Sea.
14:54And it is close, if you look at the map, a direct line to the Crimean Peninsula.
15:00So for their military purposes to cause havoc in Russian-owned Crimea, Odessa has great importance.
15:13Of course, it's also the principal port or commercial activities of Ukraine.
15:19So this is the city in Ukraine, which they have focused their attention on.
15:25As to the coalition of the willing, that is largely posturing.
15:31And it would be to cover up any operation that they would take focused on Odessa.
15:40Odessa is also conveniently close to the Romanian border.
15:45So it is conceivable that without talking about peacekeepers over the whole thousand kilometer long line of engagement,
15:55these two powers of France and Britain could concentrate their efforts on one city,
16:01for which they probably have sufficient manpower and equipment.
16:06That is city being Odessa.
16:08Let me ask you about Germany.
16:10Has the Nord Stream pipeline been repaired?
16:13No, well, there are two pipelines.
16:17The one that is still almost usable, that is the pipeline 2, which was ready to be put into service
16:26and then was refused acceptance by the Germans.
16:34It has some problems.
16:38You can't keep a pipeline like this inactive for two, three years with no maintenance.
16:45But to restart it is probably an easy matter.
16:49The first pipeline, the one that was blown up, also was salvageable.
16:55But it will take considerably bigger investment and time to restore it.
17:02The issue, of course, is that the Germans remain and under Merz are likely to remain vehemently opposed to taking Russian gas,
17:14even if it's essential for their economy to recover.
17:19Very interesting.
17:20And I have that image in my mind of Chancellor Scholz standing blithely, meekly next to President Biden.
17:29President Biden, as Biden says, you know, we'll we'll take care of the Nord Stream pipeline.
17:37He obviously knew what was going on.
17:39Switching gears, the Kellogg plan, the plan put forth by General Kellogg.
17:45It's hard to imagine this was not run past Donald Trump.
17:48It's harder to imagine that Trump approved of it.
17:50Nevertheless, the plan would divide Ukraine sort of the way Germany was divided at the end of World War Two
17:59among the allies into three or four protectorates.
18:04How was this viewed in Europe?
18:08In Europe, I can't say.
18:10I don't think they're giving too much attention to General Kellogg.
18:13And still, it's something that's hanging in the air.
18:17It doesn't have the backing of Donald Trump.
18:19So it's not clear where it's headed.
18:21I will say something about how the Russians feel, probably more positively than you would anticipate.
18:28The thing about, in fact, when I've written about this Kellogg plan versus the position of Steve Witkoff,
18:36I got a comment saying, well, what's the difference between them after all?
18:39Because both parties are recognizing Russian possession of the four obelists that is now occupying largely in eastern Ukraine plus Crimea.
18:52In that sense, both Kellogg and Witkoff are saying the same thing.
18:57Yeah, but Putin would never agree to American troops in western Ukraine, would he?
19:03No, no.
19:05The issue of the troops and the division, the real difference between Witkoff and Kellogg is over what about the rest of Ukraine?
19:15That Kellogg, as we know, is speaking about western troops in the westernmost part of Ukraine.
19:25The center of Ukraine being a kind of rump state, a neutral state of, presumably neutral state of Ukraine.
19:34And the Russians owning the eastern part.
19:36Nonetheless, I'd want to look at this from, take a step back.
19:39They are talking, Witkoff and Kellogg are talking about the end game.
19:46Let's remember that when Trump rolled out his initiative, it was only about a ceasefire.
19:53And the Russians were complaining, wait a minute, this doesn't count.
19:57Where is the end game?
19:58So the Americans have taken on board, whether it's Kellogg as a hardliner together with Rubio,
20:03or it is Steve Witkoff as the soft guy who is taking on board and accepting Russia's basic demands.
20:12They all are dealing with the end game, not with the ceasefire.
20:19Now, we're approaching the deadline that Donald Trump gave for acceptance of the ceasefire.
20:25And that is the 20th of April.
20:30The point I want to make here is that the Russians are being blamed for the delays.
20:39I think this is dead wrong.
20:40I think the blame for the delays is on the desk of Donald Trump.
20:45He doesn't have the guts so far to do what's necessary for the agreements to be reached.
20:52Namely, he has not taken on Europe.
20:57Without Europe being challenged and put in its place, without their understanding who's who,
21:02if the boss is the United States and don't have any mistake about it,
21:06without that happening, there will be neither a ceasefire nor a peace treaty that is brokered by Trump.
21:13And so far, he shows no sign of taking on Europe.
21:17Does the Kellogg plan mention NATO?
21:21NATO, no.
21:24NATO member states, yes.
21:27I don't think he would in any way challenge the remarks that Donald Trump made soon after taking office,
21:34that the United States will not provide Article 5 coverage for any Western European military that is put into Ukraine,
21:46observe the name of peacekeepers or whatever.
21:50So, no, he wouldn't overrule that.
21:52But what kind of an administration listens to Steve Witkoff in one ear and Lindsey Graham in the other?
21:59Donald Trump is a Catholic in more than one sense and he's listening to all sides and he's leaving everybody guessing.
22:12This can only carry you so far.
22:15And I think he's running at the outer limits of where this negotiating tactic works and coming up to the point where it stops working.
22:25If he is so if he cannot make a decision and take the consequences, then he's going to lose on all fronts.
22:31Professor Doctorow, a pleasure, my dear friend.
22:36Thank you for your analysis.
22:38Safe travels.
22:40Happy Easter and we'll look forward to seeing you next week.
22:44Happy Easter to all of you.
22:48And coming up later today at 11 o'clock this morning with some explosive information about an American being kicked out of the United States.
22:59Oops, could ICE have made a mistake on this one?
23:02Max Blumenthal at 11, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson at 2, and the always worth waiting for, Professor John Mearsheimer at 3.
23:11Judge Napolitano for Judging Freedom.
23:45Cool.