The Bundestag voted in favor of Bundeswehr participation © Michael Kappeler
IDS Tornado of the Air Force © Air Force Press Center
The Bundestag on Friday approved the military deployment against the terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS) in Syria. More than two-thirds of the members of the Bundestag voted in favor of the government’s motion.
A motion by the left-wing parliamentary group to immediately stop all arms deliveries to numerous Middle East countries was rejected. The Syria deployment includes Tornados for reconnaissance, and aerial refueling planes are also planned. A German frigate is to protect the French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" off the Syrian coast. Up to 1.200 German soldiers are earmarked for deployment.
Criticism from the left
The parliamentary group leader of the Left Party, Sahra Wagenknecht, sharply criticized the planned deployment. "War only makes things worse. You’re not fighting the IS with this, you’re just making it stronger," Wagenknecht said. Experiences from other war missions, for example in Afghanistan, have shown that this kind of military engagement is unsuccessful.
It was as if the parliamentarians wanted Pope Julius III, he said. Wagenknecht added that this should be confirmed. This had already occurred in the 16. As the eighteenth century said, "if you knew with how little effort of intellect the world is governed, you would be astonished".
"Pure Actionism"
The leader of the Green Party, Anton Hofreiter, emphasized that his party also wants to end the killings in the region. Military action, however, is not the solution, but "pure actionism," he said. CDU parliamentarian Norbert Rottgen, on the other hand, argued that a "military presence of the West in this region" was needed. It is now also the German responsibility to act. "If we leave this region to Isis, Assad and Putin, there will be no diplomatic solution," Rottgen said.
The defense policy spokesman for the SPD, Rainer Arnold, rejected the accusation that the deployment was ill-considered and actionist. The governments in Iraq and Syria obviously could no longer protect its citizens. This would create a responsibility for Europe and also Germany.