BUT THEIR WELFARE BENEFITS FOR TURKISH IMMIGRANTS ARE GENEROUS, SO THERE’S THAT: German Troops Stranded In Afghanistan, And Germany Has So Few Planes They May Have To Use Merkel’s Jet.

This is the fourth air-related embarrassment for the German military in the last few weeks. First, a team of military advisors en route to Kurdistan was stranded in Bulgaria for a few days when their plane broke down; then, the Germans actually had to borrow a plane from the Dutch to carry a shipment of arms to the Kurds. Farcically, that plane also broke down. On September 30, another plane malfunction forced a plane carrying aid intended for Ebola victims in Africa to land in the Canary Islands, where the aid is still stuck.

As we wrote yesterday, it is admirable that postwar Germany confronted its past, embraced non-aggression, and transitioned to democracy. But part of being a mature democracy, as well as being a member of a defensive alliance like NATO, is being able to defend yourself. Like many European nations, Germany may have fallen below that threshold—and these stories increasingly suggest that, in a world on fire, even its low, on-paper strength may mostly be nominal.

Putin smiles.