Part 2--A Story: From 2007 and the German Defense Ministry in Bonn

During the summer of 2007 I made my first trip to Germany. One of my sons went as part of the Sister Cities exchange program, and I agreed to come along as a chaperone.

It was a wonderful experience! I stayed with a German teacher, and I got to experience life as her guest. I also took day trips to places like Bonn and Berlin.
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I wound up traveling to Germany over the course of three other summers, but the trip to Bonn was one of the most unusual experiences I ever had. I never shared this story on my blog, but this summer seemed like the right time to tell it.

Now let’s find Bonn. Start with the white countries on the western edge of Europe. The Netherlands are to the north, and Belgium to the south.
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Take your finger east across the map towards the light green area. If you go all the way across the German state of North Rhine Westphalia, you’ll run into Bonn. It’s close to Hesse, the next state. It’s in yellow green.

                                                                                             My map source:
               https://printableworldmaps.net/political-germany-map-map-of-germany-with-cities-pdf/
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​Part 2: Later—That Bigger Story:   We had a German officer as our tour guide. The only thing I remember, how we sat in a small meeting room and listened to him talk about the Bush Doctrine and the German position on it.
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The officer kept pointing out the differences between them and pushing why the German one was better. I kept biting my tongue. My son was in the room, and I knew he wanted my mouth to stay shut, so I tried my very best. 

Then it happened. One of our German hosts said in an all-knowing voice that their position was better. They waited for proof before striking, even if their own citizens and soldiers were killed first.

This is me in Germany, at a different time. I knew I had to speak. I understood why President George W. Bush didn’t wait. I watched the towers collapse on 9/11/01. That fall the entire country lived in fear that terrorists could strike again.

The president sent troops into Afghanistan on October 7, less than a month later. He had to hold the Taliban and al-Qaeda responsible for 9/11 and make sure it didn’t happen again.
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Then on March 20, 2003, the president again sent in troops. This time to Iraq. Saddam Hussein was threatening the US with weapons of mass destruction (WMD). 


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In the two years between Afghanistan and Iraq, the President created the Bush Doctrine. It said the US could strike if there was an immediate or looming threat. The goal, to stop the attacks on us. President Bush was especially concerned with Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, the nation states most connected to terrorism and WMD. 

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​                   Tomorrow: What I finally said, and what I learned at lunch from the German officer.

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