“I’m a military man”: how Colonel Marcus Reisner declares war

Colonel Reisner described “Die Zeit” as a German political scientist Carlo Masala “Chief commentator on war between Russia and Ukraine”. How should you be called?

There is a fundamental difference between the two of us. He is a political scientist and I am an army man. The word “declarer of war” may of course be used, but it should be supplemented by the word “army”. Because I am trying to present things from a purely military point of view. And the military claims to be objective and neutral in its assessment of the situation.

Why is the military perspective “objective and neutral”?

Because the military assessment of the situation forms the basis for deploying units with troops. A wrong decision based on faulty situational awareness can result in the death and injury of hundreds, if not thousands, of people. That is why the military must be very honest and objective. It sounds pathetic, but it’s our priority.

Does it have anything to do with the fact that you come from the Austrian army, i.e. neutral Austria?

Of course, this is certainly not only beneficial, because Austria basically lacks perceived relevance in this form, not even when it comes to the military. But I think we made a very important decision at the beginning of the attack, which was to inform people and do it neutrally and neutrally. Since the Corona crisis, I think the word has spread quickly due to an information environment characterized by constant disputes about the truth.

So did our Swiss professional colleagues miss the opportunity?

As far as my Swiss or German compatriots are concerned this can in no way serve as advice for me. I can only encourage the media to do this: now is the perfect moment to restore the faith in your own military that you may have lost in recent years.

By asking them. We all enjoyed excellent education. Whether it is the armed forces of NATO countries or the armed forces of Austria and Switzerland, all our armed forces are defensive in nature. So we serve to protect our republic and its people. Here you cannot accuse them of having aggressive thoughts, but rather trying to explain this difficult time – a historical time – to the people.