After intense debate but an ultimately lop-sided vote, Germany’s lower house of parliament has agreed, 445-146, to the cabinet’s plans to join the war against ISIS in Syria. The deployment will not include any German airstrikes, but they will support other nations’ airstrikes.
Under the plan, Germany will send six spy planes, a frigate, refueling aircraft, and 1,200 troops into the region. It is unclear where the German troops will actually be stationed, but in keeping with the German Constitution’s ban on aggressive warfare, they will likely not be in a combat situation.
The cabinet had signed off on the plan on Tuesday, following a similar announcement of 650 troops to head to Mali to fight alongside French troops there. The government has cited the Paris attacks as justification for more involvement abroad, particularly in nations France is involved in.
Several opposition parties were critical of the plan, such as it is, noting there was no UN authorization, no stated goal, and no apparent end-game to the conflict. Even Germany’s Armed Services Association was concerned by the lack of “clearly defined goals,” saying it was a recipe for a decade or more of aimless war.
It would make more sense for Germany invade Poland to provide living space for refugees.
Why not pay Morocco to take them in? They wouldn't have to learn a new language or adjust to a different culture. Morocco is farther away from the fighting in Syria then Germany is.
But I guess Morocco is not as rich as Germany is and doesn't pay out such generous welfare benefits……
That made me smile….it`s almost funny.
As I always say, when people start waving the swastika, it means they've run out of arguments.
I totally agree with the last paragraph of this article. When you think just how hypocritical all this is it`s breath taking . Following the horrendous end to WW11 both Germany and Japan were dis-armed and occupied . As a result od re-education etc. both nations became strictly pacifist and anti any foreign wars. Their defence , such as it was , was provided by the US of course. Now just 70 years later the situation has turned 360 degrees and why ? Because America has said so , pacifism is taboo to the US , both countries will now become slowly but surely more and more militarily inclined .
The "white man's burden" early 21st century variation.
I don't know about Japan but in Germany's case, re-unification changed everything. Historically, whoever controls the central German Space controls Europe and re-unification put Gremany in control of that space. The EU provides a framework for that geographical reality to function without Germany either threatening its neighbours or feeling threatened by them, which is what led to intra-European wars in the past. Thus, showing solidarity with their EU partners is just enlightened self-interest for Germany. Also, Gremany wasn't as disarmed as all that. West Germany re-armed from 1955, at the end of the Occupation. East Germany had a fake army from 1948, posing as part of the police, even though it had naval and air arms! Fianlly, the last paragraph is indeed correct, but that's because of the inherently unwinnable nature of the conflicts in Mali and Syria. German participation changes nothing in that regard.
Nothing draws people together like a common external enemy! And the EU now has three of them: Putin, refugees and terrorists. No wonder the Member States are drawing closer together!
Japan, Germany, while they outwardly project a pacifist appearance both have since end of WWII been an integral part of US military and State Departments war making.
US has owned the main Okinawa and its several island’s chain, and has militarized
them.
Recently,2011, as exposed by Fukushima’s ongoing three(3) melting cores the Japanese were engaged eith US in producing suprr enriched weapons grade plutonium and some hundreds of tons during Japans reactor shut downs was removed from there.
Germany military is not an independent force but a part of any US manuvers and always the enemy is Russia.
US intervened incGerman Belgium Austrian financial attempt to destroy Balkans but were happy to be paid to aid Yugoslavias unwarranted destructiion.
No independent bank in Balkans other than Albania( Greater Albania Campaign by US led UN and NATO.
Volunteering for UN peacekeeping “Clean up the mess US made” missions keep military cohesion in tact.
I have just returned from Germany. The "justification" for participating in Guernicating Syria are two UN resolutions which are probably falsely applied. As soon as the German participation was announced it became evident that the fleet of their Tornado bombers (1) used for "reconnaissance" is pretty thin. At least one-half of the about 60 can no longer fly and the remainder is in poor conditions. Then one of the German politicians declared that the German war in Syria would last at least 10 years. That statement scared the German government which immediately retorted that the current action is for one year only and will cost about 134 million Euros. Of course that is intended to mollify the public because wars are always more expensive than expected. What the Merkel government does not say is that for some there will not be any cost but only profit.
The most crazy aspect is that Syria is a member of the UN but the German government will not recognize the Assad government while using UN resolutions against Assad.
In sum: the German action is a hastily collated, poorly considered policy.
The countries along the Western shore of the Mediterranean are quickly becoming the "Balkan of the 21st Century".
(1) inherited from the US Air Force.