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| Europe |
| German troops start guarding U.S. installations as Iraq war looms |
| 2003-01-24 |
| By MELISSA EDDY, Associated Press Writer GRIESHEIM, Germany - The first of up to 2,600 German soldiers deployed Friday at U.S. military installations to reinforce security ahead of possible war in Iraq, a move meant to offset Germany's refusal to contribute troops for any military action. About 300 soldiers were in the first wave being sent out to U.S. bases and other complexes, strung across southern and western Germany, the German Defense Ministry said. At the Stars and Stripes Complex in Griesheim south of Frankfurt, one of nearly 60 sites involved, 28 German troops began pulling guard duty at the gates and inside the base. About 100 U.S. soldiers and civilians are based at Griesheim , home to the offices of a newspaper for the U.S. military. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder pledged last year that the Bundeswehr would help secure U.S. installations as he tried to balance his opposition to a war on Iraq with Germany's alliance with the United States. He also has guaranteed that the U.S. military can overfly Germany and use its bases on German soil to support an attack on Iraq. Funny, you dont hear alot about that position in the New York Times! It isn't the first time that German soldiers have pitched in to help guarantee security at U.S. facilities in the country, where more than 116,000 Americans are stationed. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, hundreds of German soldiers and military police helped patrol the installations. Many of the troops going into action Friday are young Germans doing their compulsory nine-month military service. They will carry their units' standard weapons, generally pistols or assault rifles, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity. No time limit has been set for the German deployment, which will be gradually increased. Schroeder's anti-war stance helped him to a narrow re-election win last September, but angered the U.S. administration. This week, with a key report from U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq approaching and Washington showing impatience with the process, he has stiffened his opposition. After weeks of hedging, Schroeder now says that Germany will not endorse an attack on Iraq in the U.N. Security Council, which it joined Jan. 1. Ok, so if we look closely here we can see that Germany has made its position clear, the US will go ahead and do what its going to do anyway, and the German government is given cover by its public position. however their private intergovernment position may be different. If Germany had said that we could not use their airspace or instanllation to support the war in Iraq, that might mean something. |
| Posted by:Frank Martin |
| #2 We had lots of German guards around our American compounds during GW1, too. They would not want any U.S. military dependants killed while the GIs are off fighting. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-01-24 11:43:21 |
| #1 This is more about the Germans trying to keep US bases in Germany than anything else. We'll probably relocate into Iraq after the short war anyway but the Germans can try to convince us to stay and spend those fatty military paychecks in Germany. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-01-24 11:30:42 |