THE "FIRST VICTIM" - YEAH, RIGHT – AT 8:15 P.M. ET:  There's a not-very-old saying in international politics:  "Germany was a Nazi country and Austria is a Nazi country. 

All right, it may be a bit of an exaggeration, but Austria has always portrayed itself as the "first victim" of Hitler when, in fact, the Austrians welcomed him with open arms.  Hitler was himself an Austrian.

Now Austria is acting very badly again, this time in regard to Iran.  "The first victim" of Nazism doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong in trading with, and even increasing its trade with, a nation whose leaders deny the Holocaust.  Austria has become Iran's best friend in Europe. 

My friend Simone Dinah Hartmann (a wonderful name) directs a superb group called STOP THE BOMB, which puts pressure on European governments and companies to end their relationships with the Iranian regime.  She is based in Vienna and reports, in a piece for The Wall Street Journal, just how much of a problem Austrian policy has become:

While the Western world is trying to rally international support for tougher sanctions against Tehran to stop its nuclear-weapons program, Austria seems to seek even closer ties with the mullahs. Instead of isolating the Islamic Republic, Vienna just welcomed Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran's foreign minister, who in 2006 gave the opening speech at Tehran's Holocaust denial conference...

...While most European countries have reduced their business ties with the mullahs, Austrian exports to Iran, including sophisticated machinery and electronic goods, rose by almost 6% in 2009, reaching approximately €350 million. That figure is even more astounding given that during last year's world financial crisis, Austrian exports to the rest of the world fell 20%.

I guess this isn't the Austria of "The Sound of Music."  We've been misled.

As "Azadi," the call for freedom, was heard throughout the streets of Tehran this summer, the Austrian Chambers of Commerce organized an Iran seminar to intensify business ties with the mullah dictatorship. During the visit of a high-ranking Iranian business delegation to Austria in March of last year, the president of the Chambers of Commerce, Christoph Leitl, who like Foreign Minister Spindelegger is a member of the conservative party, clearly stated his vision for future trade between the two countries: "Bilateral business relations between Austria and Iran are excellent, but still expandable." No wonder his Iranian counterpart Ali Naghi Khamoushi said a few years back that "Austria is for us the gateway to the European Union."

Not much about this in the American press, I'm afraid.  Austria gets away with it once more. 

Kurt Waldheim, the Austrian president whose term in office was darkened by revelations about his Nazi past, became the first Western head of state to pay the regime in Tehran a courtesy visit in 1991. Waldheim even placed a wreath at Ayatollah Khomeini's sarcophagus. His trip to Tehran paved the way for further visits by high-ranking politicians from other Western European countries-especially from Germany.

COMMENT:  It's a depressing record.  It's inexcusable.  But Austrians see a weak, indecisive Obama, and they know they can get away with it.  Groups like STOP THE BOMB publicize Europe's deceptions regarding Iran, and they need all the support we can give them.

April 28    Permalink

AND NOW THE PAIN IN SPAIN – At 7:36 P.M. ET: I urge you to follow this story.  There is a debt crisis in European nations.  Greece needs to be bailed out.  If the crisis spreads, and it looks as if it may, it could destabilize the international financial system.  Now we learn that Spain is on the brink.

We are told that President Obama is following this closely.  Maybe he'll blame it on Israeli settlements.

From The New York Times: 

BERLIN — European leaders scrambled Wednesday to quell the market instability growing out of Greece’s debt crisis, with German officials seeking legislative approval for a major contribution to an international aid package that looks as if it could reach 120 billion euros ($160 billion) over the next three years.

One day after cutting Greece’s status to junk and downgrading Portugal, a major ratings agency also cut Spain’s debt rating by a notch and the euro reached a one-year low, underscoring how difficult it will be for Europe to contain problems that started in Greece.

“Every day which is lost is a day where the situation is getting worse and worse, not only in Greece but in the whole European Union,” said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund. “It’s the confidence in the zone which is at stake and that’s why we need to act swiftly and strongly.”

COMMENT:  I don't want to gloat.  Well, actually I do.  But aren't these the same countries that are constantly lecturing us and ridiculing us?  Same old story.  Europe struts around feeling very superior, while its foundations are crumbling.

A number of European countries are in trouble.  Can this affect our recovery?  I'm not economist, but the impression I get from a number of news sources is, definitely yes.  Europe is one of our largest export markets, and if its economy slides, purchases of American goods will slide as well.

This will be a day-by-day thing.

April 28