Germany’s revenue from exporting weapons and defense products jumped sharply in 2010 to its highest level ever, according to the government’s annual Defense and Exports Report. Arms exports generated €2 billion (us$2.66 billion), up from €1.34 billion in 2009 and €0.3 billion in 2002.

“Most of the products exported were high-value armaments like submarines, warships and tanks,” reports Der Spiegel.

German armaments manufacturers also agreed contracts worth €5 billion in 2010.

Two thirds of the weapons exports are to EU or nato members. But United Press International focuses its article on the subject on Germany’s increasing involvement in the Middle East. “The Germans are battling hard for military contracts in the Middle East, where conflict has been a constant since World War ii and the post-colonial period,” it writes.

Earlier this year, Germany agreed to sell 200 Leopard tanks to Saudi Arabia.

“In her eagerness to support the German defense industry, Merkel is breaking with a traditional doctrine of German foreign policy,” wrote Der Spiegel at the time. “The fundamental principle used to be that weapons produced in Germany couldn’t be delivered to countries engaged in a conflict.”

“This latest tank deal overshadows everything that went before,” it said. “And no other administration has so blatantly taken on the role of sales representative for the German defense industry.”

This rise in arms exports is the reflection of the new “normal” Germany—a nation unashamed of its history. The rise in arms exports to the Middle East points to a new alliance—one the Trumpet has been forecasting for years—between Germany and the enemies of Iran. For more information on this alliance, see our article “Enemies and Allies.”