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German Parliament Votes to Send Military Assistance to Fight ISIS German Parliament Votes to Send Military Assistance to Fight ISIS
(35 minutes later)
BERLIN — The German Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Friday to send reconnaissance planes, a frigate and midair fueling capacity to the Middle East to aid the campaign against the Islamic State in Syria while refraining from direct attacks such as bombing raids. BERLIN — The German Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Friday to send reconnaissance planes, a frigate and midair fueling capacity to the Middle East to aid the campaign against the Islamic State in Syria, although German forces will not be involved in direct combat like airstrikes.
The vote, with 445 in favor and 146 against, with seven abstentions, was expected, given the large parliamentary majority commanded by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “grand coalition” government of center-right and center-left. The vote — with 445 in favor, 146 against and seven abstentions — was expected, given the large parliamentary majority commanded by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “grand coalition” government of center-right and center-left.
A sprinkling of center-left deputies from the Social Democrats joined the opposition — Greens and the Left party — in opposing the deployment. A sprinkling of center-left lawmakers from the Social Democrats joined the opposition — Greens and the Left party — in voting against the deployment.
Even 70 years after World War II, Germany remains wary of using its military outside the NATO alliance, and such missions require parliamentary approval.Even 70 years after World War II, Germany remains wary of using its military outside the NATO alliance, and such missions require parliamentary approval.
In this case, the opposition attacked the government for acting with unusual speed, and it charged that Ms. Merkel was relying solely on an ill-considered military action to combat the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. The government said action was essential because the turmoil in the Middle East was increasingly affecting events at home, from the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees to terrorist alerts and risky missions overseas for Germany’s all-volunteer armed forces.
The vote came only eight days after the government first pledged to meet requests from Germany’s closest European ally, France, for assistance in targeting the Islamic State in Syria after the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks that killed 130 people in and around Paris.
“The Paris attacks have forced us in Europe to realize that the Middle East is not somewhere distant like South America,” said Norbert Röttgen, the head of Parliament’s foreign affairs committee.
“It is our neighbor,” he added, “and we Europeans must take responsibility for this region.”
The opposition attacked the government for acting with unusual speed, and it charged that Ms. Merkel was relying solely on what it said was an ill-considered military action to combat the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
“War is terror that breeds more terror,” Sahra Wagenknecht, co-leader of the Left party, told Parliament.“War is terror that breeds more terror,” Sahra Wagenknecht, co-leader of the Left party, told Parliament.
The government said action was essential, as the turmoil in the Middle East increasingly affects events at home — from the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees to terrorist alerts and risky missions overseas for Germany’s all-volunteer armed forces. Part of the reason the government moved so quickly is that both major parties in the coalition — Ms. Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats — will hold annual congresses in a week, and they wanted issue of military deployment settled beforehand.
The vote came only eight days after the government first pledged to meet requests from Germany’s closest European ally, France, for assistance in targeting Islamic State in Syria after the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks that killed 130 people in central Paris. Lawmakers from both parties cited the deployment in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as a precedent; the opposition called the comparison unfortunate, noting the continuing turmoil and insecurity in Afghanistan 14 years later.
The parliamentary vote came as a new national opinion poll indicated solid public support for military action.
The poll showed that 59 percent of respondents supported the plan for limited deployment that the government had proposed. The poll found that 34 percent would back participating in airstrikes in Syria, and 22 percent support the deployment of ground troops.
The poll for the public service broadcaster ARD and the newspaper Die Welt was conducted Nov. 30 to Dec. 1 with 1,003 respondents and a 3.1 percent margin of error, according to the pollster Infratest Dimap.
The same poll also showed that Ms. Merkel, whose popularity ratings have slipped recently during the refugee crisis, had recovered five percentage points in the past month to 54 percent.
In the past two years, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, a Christian Democrat, and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, have been among the strongest advocates for more robust German leadership in global affairs, including military action if necessary.
Both, however, have taken care to cast the relatively modest assistance for France as part of a broader strategy to end Syria’s four-and-a-half-year war.
The deployment of six Tornado reconnaissance planes, satellite radar, the frigate to support a French aircraft carrier, and the midair fueling capacity “is part of a policy,” Mr. Steinmeier told Parliament this week as it opened the three-day debate on the deployment. “It is not a substitute for policy.”
The deployment will probably involve about 1,200 members of the German armed forces, in addition to 650 who will be sent to Mali in the coming weeks to relieve French troops battling Islamic extremists in the former French colony.
On Thursday, Ms. von der Leyen appeared to concede that critics who have questioned whether Germany’s military has the bandwidth for these deployments had a legitimate argument. In recent weeks, the army has undertaken increased duties at home as the country accommodates nearly one million migrants.
Further questions about Germany’s military capacity arose this week when the Defense Ministry made clear that only 30 of about 60 aging Tornado planes were currently ready for deployment. The youngest of the aircraft have been in service for almost 25 years, with the oldest planes already in use for 35 years.
Germany’s policy in the Middle East also came in for criticism when the government on Thursday rebuked its own foreign intelligence agency for publishing a memo that depicted Saudi Arabia as a force playing an increasingly destabilizing role in the region.