Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
German cabinet agrees to deploy Tornado fighter planes in Afghanistan
“Germans must learn how to kill,” ran the headline in the newsweekly Der Spiegel at the end of last year, describing the public debate about extending Germany’s military involvement in Afghanistan. A representative of the Bush administration made the demand to Karsten Voigt, the official in Berlin responsible for German-American relations.
Last week, the German cabinet agreed to deploy between six and eight Tornado fighter planes in southern Afghanistan, a region that has witnessed fierce fighting. Moreover, the cabinet wants to send an additional 500 German soldiers to Afghanistan—in addition to 2,900 already stationed in the country. The cost of expanding German involvement amounts to approximately €35 million, according to official figures.
A final hurdle before the additional resources can be deployed is securing the agreement of the Bundestag (federal parliament). The question to be debated is under which mandate the Tornadoes are to be sent. At present, German troops are operating in Afghanistan under two different mandates—Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The latter allows both the operation of the armed forces throughout the entire country, as well as the use of military force. However, the size of the German contingent is limited to 3,000 soldiers and operations outside northern Afghanistan are strictly circumscribed.
In the new operational area in southern Afghanistan, the US-led OEF forces find themselves in an escalating counter-insurgency campaign against Taliban rebels. In the past, ISAF stressed the importance of reconstructing the civilian infrastructure in the north, presenting its own military presence as a “humanitarian mission.”
In the debate about the new mandate, the overlapping of both missions has become very clear. For weeks, leading politicians from Germany’s Christian Democrat-Social Democrat grand coalition have sought to mask the belligerent character of the mission. Merely “reconnaissance flights” are being planned; there is no question of there being any hostile engagements, according to Defence Minister Jung (Christian Democratic Union, CDU).
His predecessor Peter Struck, who today leads the Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentary faction in the Bundestag, is somewhat clearer. Of course it is a “combat mission,” he told the Bonner Generalanzeiger, posing parliamentary approval or rejection of the new deployment as a “question of conscience.” The grand coalition can afford this luxury, since the government can be sure of an overwhelming majority in the Bundestag.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2007/feb2007/torn-f12.shtml
A final hurdle before the additional resources can be deployed is securing the agreement of the Bundestag (federal parliament). The question to be debated is under which mandate the Tornadoes are to be sent. At present, German troops are operating in Afghanistan under two different mandates—Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The latter allows both the operation of the armed forces throughout the entire country, as well as the use of military force. However, the size of the German contingent is limited to 3,000 soldiers and operations outside northern Afghanistan are strictly circumscribed.
In the new operational area in southern Afghanistan, the US-led OEF forces find themselves in an escalating counter-insurgency campaign against Taliban rebels. In the past, ISAF stressed the importance of reconstructing the civilian infrastructure in the north, presenting its own military presence as a “humanitarian mission.”
In the debate about the new mandate, the overlapping of both missions has become very clear. For weeks, leading politicians from Germany’s Christian Democrat-Social Democrat grand coalition have sought to mask the belligerent character of the mission. Merely “reconnaissance flights” are being planned; there is no question of there being any hostile engagements, according to Defence Minister Jung (Christian Democratic Union, CDU).
His predecessor Peter Struck, who today leads the Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentary faction in the Bundestag, is somewhat clearer. Of course it is a “combat mission,” he told the Bonner Generalanzeiger, posing parliamentary approval or rejection of the new deployment as a “question of conscience.” The grand coalition can afford this luxury, since the government can be sure of an overwhelming majority in the Bundestag.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2007/feb2007/torn-f12.shtml
Add Your Comments
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$210.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network