German central banker Thilo Sarrazin has stirred international controversy with his new book Germany Does Away With Itself: How We are Risking the Future of our Nation, which contains what many believe are anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant sentiments.

From Michael Slackman, the New York Times:  For the first time in more than half a century, Germany’s political leadership appears ready to end the draft, a post World War II mandate embedded in the Constitution to prevent this nation’s military from ever again developing into a state-within-a-state that could impede democracy and start war.

From Gerrit Wiesmann, the Financial Times:   The German government is trying to cut its defence budget by ending national service and cutting the army by a third to 165,000 troops.

From Judy Dempsey, New York Times:  On Friday, the German defense minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, is set to present to Chancellor Angela Merkel his plans to modernize the Bundeswehr, the country’s armed forces.

From William Boston, Time:  43 [German soldiers] have been killed since the Afghan mission began. That's less than 1% of the 4,350 German soldiers deployed in Afghanistan, but nonetheless a large number for a country that has for two generations studiously avoided military conflict.

From James Joyner, the New Atlanticist:  The Netherlands became the first NATO member to quit Afghanistan Sunday, when it withdrew its 1955 troops.

From Ellen Barry, the New York Times:  The lower house of the Russian Parliament passed a draft law on Friday allowing the country’s intelligence service to officially warn citizens that their activities could lead to a future violation of the law, reviving a Soviet-era K.G.B. practice that was often used against dissidents.

From Judy Dempsey, the New York Times:  While the Moscow-Berlin political relationship gets a lot of attention, German companies have come to realize that the money to be made in Russia is overshadowed by the prospects even farther afield in China.