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| Europe |
| Germany rejects NATO request for choppers in Afghanistan: Daily |
| 2007-08-15 |
| (from the Irna) German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung has rejected a NATO request for sending military transport helicopters to war-stricken Afghanistan, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported Wednesday. Jung said Germany's six CH-53 military helicopters were needed in northern Afghanistan to airlift some 3,000 German troops who are deployed as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The German army has a total of 20 CH-53 helicopters outside Afghanistan, of which eight of them have been grounded because of maintenance service and repair work. Half of Germany's operational CH-53 helicopter fleet is also needed for training purposes and mission preparations. NATO's commander-in-chief made a written request for the transport helicopters on June 30 to Germany, Turkey, France, Spain and Greece. Berlin has faced intense pressure in recent months from its NATO allies, notably the US, Britain and Canada, to extend its military presence into southern Afghanistan where NATO troops are trying to crush a Taliban insurgency. Some 35,000 ISAF troops are currently based in Afghanistan. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #1 Half of Germany's operational CH-53 helicopter fleet is also needed for training purposes and mission preparations. Training for what? I suppose they could always tap into the French strategic accordion reserve. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-08-15 12:43 |