Andrew Sullivan is now arguing along with Josh Marshall that Schroeder's smallpox scandal shows the following:

["]By appeasing these thugs, we could deflect the horror toward the Brits and Americans.["] I do think that's an underlying assumption on the part of Germany and France. By taking the anti-American line, they risk nothing.

This doesn't make any sense with respect to the smallpox issue. The health ministry report contemplates the extreme dangers posed to Germany of a smallpox release IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD. On the face of it, a release in the U.S. could also kill 25 million people because Germany's vaccine stocks are too low and because people are mobile in this day and age. I understand wanting to nail the Germans, and maybe the Germans do have this "underlying assumption." But in this case, it's inconsistent with the Health Ministry's own assessments.

Read my earlier blog, with a translation of the important part of the Health Ministry memo, here.