Germany votes to take military action in Syria
Print Edition
GERMANY’S lawmakers yesterday approved plans for the country to take on a direct role in the battle against the Islamic State group in Syria, answering France’s appeal for help after the deadly Paris attacks.
Parliament agreed to the mandate for the deployment of Tornado reconnaissance jets, a frigate and up to 1,200 troops by a majority of 445 votes to 146.
The green light for the mission that could become Germany’s biggest deployment abroad comes three weeks after jihadists killed 130 people in Paris.
The atrocities prompted France to invoke a clause requiring EU states to provide military assistance to wipe out the IS group in Iraq and Syria. Britain joined the US-led bombing campaign on Thursday, striking an IS-held oil field as the momentum to take action against the jihadist group increased.
After repeatedly ruling out the use of “boots on the ground,” United States President Barack Obama agreed to send up to 100 special forces to Iraq, with a mandate to carry out raids inside Syria.
A broad coalition of 60 countries has been battling IS since August last year, though involvement in Syria has been limited with some Western nations wary of how military action could actually end up serving President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which they view as no longer legitimate.
However, reticence seemed to have melted away following the Paris attacks, and in the Netherlands, which has been bombarding the IS in Iraq, the government too is coming under pressure to widen the aerial campaign to Syria.
Even in Germany, where there has traditionally been reluctance to engage in military missions abroad, the government’s decision to take direct action in Syria has been largely met with support.
An opinion poll in Die Welt newspaper yesterday found 58 percent of people in favour of the military deployment.
The support came despite a large majority of 63 percent believing that the risk of a terror attack on German soil will rise as a result of Bundeswehr involvement in Syria.
Germany’s Justice Minister Heiko Maas said the case for deployment was watertight.
“Germans can be certain the deployment to Syria neither violates international law nor the constitution,” he told the Tagesspiegel daily yesterday.
“We must stop this terrorist gang of murderers. That will not be achieved with military action alone, but neither will it be achieved without,” he said.
The package approved by parliament includes six Tornado aircraft, which have no offensive fighter capability but are specialized in air-to-ground reconnaissance.
A German frigate will be deployed to protect the “Charles de Gaulle,” from which French fighter jets are carrying out bombing runs, and the tanker aircraft could refuel them mid-air to extend their range.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
