The re-armament and re-activation of Germany as a military power

[Magda Hassan]

German Luftwaffe Fighter Intercepts Russian Aircraft In Baltic



Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Sat Nov 7, 2009 3:13 pm (PST)



http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091103-22989.html

The Local (Germany)
November 3, 2009

German fighter jet intercepts Russians in Baltic airspace

A German Luftwaffe fighter jet recently intercepted a Russian military aircraft threatening the airspace of NATO's Baltic members, the Rheinische Post daily reported on Tuesday.

The Bundeswehr confirmed to the paper that the incident, involving a German Eurofighter and a Russian radar plane along the Estonian-Russian border, occurred on September 15.

After the German jet challenged the radar plane, the Russians scrambled two fighters, which approached at supersonic speed. Finnish jets then escorted the Russians back to international airspace, averting a further escalation of the situation.

The Luftwaffe has protected the airspace of the Baltic nations Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia for the past two months as part of a rotating deployment by NATO members.

[Jan Klimkowski]

The Luftwaffe flying for NATO!

mallprint:

[Magda Hassan]

An awful long way from home..... A puff piece from DW who specialise in puff pieces.

German military has long experience in Mali

The planned non-combative mission by the German Bundeswehr will not be the first of its kind. Since 2005, German soldiers have trained Malian engineers and Germany has donated large amounts of military hardware.
For several months now the West African state of Mali has been in the spotlight. At the start of the year it looked as if Islamist rebels from the north could overrun the weak Malian army and seize power. That prospect changed with the arrival of the French interventionary force in mid-January.
France's role as an armed ally is now gradually to be taken over by soldiers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). At the same time the European Union is planning to train the Malian army in order to increase its effectiveness. In this, the EU can draw on the German armed forces' many years of experience. German soldiers have been active in Mali for some time but few people in Germany are aware of this.
Members of the Malian engineers' unit have already had eight years of German training
German military trainers in Mali since 2005
Between 2005 and the outbreak of unrest in April 2012 a group of Bundeswehr advisors has been permanently stationed in Mali, the German defense ministry informed DW.
"We have helped the Malian army set up a unit of engineers who should now form part of the ECOWAS operation. We have also established a training center for construction workers and mechanics," a Bundeswehr officer who did not wish to be named told DW. Right from the start, he was in charge of the advisors' group which consisted of seven soldiers. Since mid-February he has been back in the Malian capital Bamako to pick up where the advisory group had to leave off in April 2012.
The officer told DW that when he first arrived in 2005 the Malian unit was not adequately trained and lacked equipment. That has now been rectified with on-the-spot training and the delivery of redundant Bundeswehr military hardware.
Equipment worth millions
Bundeswehr records show that between 2007 and 2011 the German army donated equipment worth more than three million euros ($3.9 million) to Mali's armed forces. The list includes several dozen trucks, material for bridge-building, boats, construction machinery and tents. Additional deliveries followed in 2012, also financed by Germany.
In January 2008 alone, two cargo flights were dispatched to Mali at a cost of around half-a-million euros. In total, the Bundeswehr puts the cost of its Mali operation between 2005 and 2012 at 37 million euros.
The German government is now continuing with its commitment to the West African state. Within the framework of the EU training mission, some 40 German soldiers will carry on training train Malian engineers.
Elke Hoff supports continued German training for the Malian army
For defense expert Elke Hoff, a member of the Liberal Free Democrats (the junior partner in the governing coalition), this is a sensible move.
"We have trained an engineers' unit and we will continue with this as their work is particularly important in a country like Mali. For example, they are trained to detect explosives as well as to build roads and bridges," she told DW.
Praise for Malian soldiers
The German officer, who did not wish to be named, is now back in Bamako. He also thinks further support is necessary, in view of the fighting in the north. The engineers' tasks include building roads or making buildings safe. This kind of work is now vital for reconstruction work in northern Mali. Based on his previous experiences, he is optimistic that the Bundeswehr will be successful in its new mission as part of the EU training team. The Malian soldiers had made good use of the knowledge gained in the past, he said, and praised the way they had continued to run the training center after the Germans left in 2012, despite the turmoil.
Long term planning
The German officer believes the training mission will take time. "The EU training mission includes a nine months crash course in which the engineeers can take part. In the longer term I believe a period of four years will be necessary in order to consolidate everything and guarantee lasting results."
German parliamentarian Elke Hoff also believes it will take time. She recently travelled to Mali, Niger and Algeria to see things for herself. She would like to see talks begin on resolving the conflict in northern Mali. This process must include the development of the region. "A military intervention cannot take the place of political talks," she says.

DW.DE

[Magda Hassan]

Under German Command
2013/06/03

BERLIN/THE HAGUE/WARSAW
(Own report) - The German Bundeswehr has announced the formation of a permanent military unit of foreigners under German command. Beginning in January 2014, approx. 2,100 soldiers from the Netherlands will be integrated into the "Rapid Reaction Force Division" as a result of a declaration of intent signed in Berlin last week by the defense ministers of both countries. Three dozen projects for closer cooperation between the two armed forces are planned. A second, similar declaration of intent, stipulating closer naval cooperation was also signed between the defense ministers of Germany and Poland. This cooperation includes combat missions. Specialists in military policy have been calling for intensifying military cooperation to increase the Bundeswehr's military clout. Berlin would be well advised to seek cooperation particularly with the smaller countries, because they, it is said, unlike France or Great Britain, are more pliable allies due to their lesser power potentials.


Under Bundeswehr Command
Germany and the Netherlands will merge their military forces closer together, according to the declaration of intent signed in Berlin last week by the German Minister of Defense and his Dutch counterpart. This is referred to as a "new quality" in bilateral military cooperation.[1] In fact, the declaration of intent goes beyond stipulating that the two countries coordinate their armament and maintenance more closely, meaning, for example, that, in the future, their boxer armored fighting vehicles will be serviced together, and that they will coordinate the procurement of MALE (Medium Altitude, Long Endurance) drones, according to the document.[2] They also seek to integrate elements of the Dutch military into German military structures. For example, the navies of both countries will train together and their militaries will intensify their common air transport.[3] The integration of an entire Dutch brigade into a German unit is one of the declaration's three dozen cooperation projects. According to the German Defense Ministry, the 11th Dutch Airborne Brigade, with its 2,100 soldiers, will be "subordinate to the Rapid Reaction Force Division."[4] Accordingly, Dutch soldiers will enter combat under Bundeswehr orders.

Special Merits
The German-Dutch military cooperation, which, according to Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière, should be further intensified, is the result of many years of development. Already on August 30, 1995, the first German-Dutch Corps was commissioned in the West German city of Muenster. In November 2002, the staff at that base became NATO's certified "High Readiness Force Headquarters." The German-Dutch Corps can now field up to 80,000 combat troops. The bilateral cooperation has been put to the test in the western alliance's operations around the world. In Yugoslavia, but mainly in Afghanistan and, to a certain extent, at the Horn of Africa, the armed forces of these two countries have been intervening in close coordination with one another over the past few years. In the course of these operations, the former commander of the Bundeswehr's Joint Operations Command, Lt.-Gen. Rainer Glatz had particularly distinguished himself. April 16, he was awarded the highest medal of the Dutch Army (the "Ereteke voor verdienste in goud") which is awarded for special merit in support of the Dutch Armed Forces.

German Command
On the eve of the German-Dutch accord, the German Defense Minister and his Polish counterpart had also concluded a declaration of intent on the consolidation of military cooperation. This statement was focused on naval cooperation between the two countries, which had also had a long development, and is now being massively intensified. According to the German Navy, 28 projects in all, were agreed upon, ranging "from joint training," "cooperation in ship-building," all the way to "joint surveillance of the Baltic Sea." "Joint (...) missions" are also being prepared.[5] The plans are due to be implemented this month. Also in this case, German command is totally undisputed. As the Polish Minister of Defense stated, the cooperation with the Bundeswehr is "particularly important for the conceptional development of the Polish Navy."

Germany at the Crossroads
The strategic plan behind Berlin's recent initiatives can be gleaned from analyses of military policy specialists. They explain that Germany risks appreciably losing influence in global policy. As the USA is turning its attention toward East Asia, it is relying less on military cooperation with Germany. Simultaneously, Paris and London are intensifying their military cooperation within the EU, and - with Washington's assistance - are systematically marginalizing Berlin. This can be seen very clearly in the interventions in Libya and Mali.[6] Germany is standing "at a security policy crossroads," according a text raising eyebrows in transatlantic circles. The text was published in February by an associate of the Institute for Security Policy at the University of Kiel (ISPK).[7] Berlin has the choice: "make security policy initiatives in Europe or fade into irrelevance."

Expeditionary Objectives
The text further explains that there are various possibilities of regaining the offensive in military policy. For example, the decision to leave the batteries of patriot missiles in Turkey permanently could be taken - within the framework of multinational "initiatives for a NATO Missile Defense Center."[8] This is not needed for the war in Syria, but rather because of Iran's arms buildup, whose "missiles and nuclear programs" could call for a future "deployment of patriots to Turkey." Placing more importance on naval forces would be advantageous. "In the North Atlantic, the North and the Baltic Seas" they are "no longer needed today." However, "expeditionary missions in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean" are now on the agenda. For some time, the military has been considering the Indian Ocean, in particular, to be the "Key Sea" in the struggle with China over hegemony. (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[9]) The ISPK associate declared that to expand the German naval presence in Djibouti (East Africa) "to a permanent base of operations" is not out of the question. The German naval vessels' integration in US Navy "carrier strike groups" is also "very advantageous from the standpoint of alliance policy."[10] This must also be a consideration for British or French units.

Pool Forces
Ultimately, the paper concludes that the establishment of "multination units" must urgently and rapidly be advanced. The impending crisis-imposed budget cuts throughout the EU, alone, make the pooling of forces inevitable. The recently expressed idea of establishing a German-French Air Force,[11] even though "worth considering," is at the same time risky. France - like Great Britain - insists on military independence. "Therefore any German initiatives should be aimed at smaller partners," the paper advises.[12] They are hardly still in a position to assure their own national defense at the highest military technological level, on a long-term basis and, therefore, are obliged to enter cooperation with other nations. At the same time, from Berlin's perspective, there is no danger of losing its predominating influence to a weaker ally within the structure of military cooperation.

[1] Smarte Militärkooperation mit den Niederlanden; http://www.bmvg.de 29.05.2013
[2] see also Military Cooperation between Germany and the Netherlands
[3] see also Effizientere Kriege
[4] Smarte Militärkooperation mit den Niederlanden; http://www.bmvg.de 29.05.2013
[5] Vertiefung der deutsch-polnischen Zusammenarbeit; http://www.marine.de 27.05.2013
[6] s. dazu The New Entente Cordiale
[7], [8] Deutschland muss wählen: Sicherheitspolitische Initiative oder Irrelevanz; http://www.seidlers-sicherheitspolitik.net 20.02.2013
[9] see also Key Maritime Region
[10] see also Vor fremden Küsten and Begleitschutz für Flugzeugträger
[11] see also Leading Nation of a Belligerent Europe
[12] Deutschland muss wählen: Sicherheitspolitische Initiative oder Irrelevanz; http://www.seidlers-sicherheitspolitik.net 20.02.2013
http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58539

[David Guyatt]

I didn't see anything there for Einsatzgruppen?

[Magda Hassan]

BERLIN/BERGEN/MUNSTER
(Own report) - The Bundeswehr is preparing prospective general staff officers for the invasion of foreign countries and the repression of civil unrest. Scenarios to this effect formed the basis of an informational training exercise for the military's future commanders that ended last week. The large-scale maneuver, which involved a total of 3,500 soldiers and 700 ground and aerial vehicles - carried out in the close vicinity of the former Nazi Bergen-Belsen concentration camp - also exercised combat against insurgents in congested urban areas. Various surveillance drones and elite units specialized in "covert operations" as well as those specialized in psychological warfare were also in action. They trained using live ammunition. According to the German military, the exercise took the "reality" of past warfare into consideration, while anticipating "foreseeable challenges of the future."


Invasion of "Obsidia"
According to the German military, a major maneuver was carried out from September 30, to October 10, at the Bergen and Munster training grounds in the Lueneburg Heath - in the close vicinity of the former Nazi Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. The so-called "land operations" informational training exercise, with the participation of a total of 3,500 soldiers and 700 ground and aerial vehicles, was aimed at training prospective general and admiral staff officers from the German Armed Forces Staff College and Army officer cadets. To develop a "better understanding" of current and future warfare, one "must smell the gun smoke and hear the explosions," explained one of the course's graduates.[1] The scenario forming the basis for the maneuver foresaw German troops invading the fictitious country of "Obsidia" - with the objective of combating the local insurgents.

House-to-House Combat
The various "training stations" the participants had to pass also included combat in an "urban environment." The combat was carried out according to the following script: After spy drones and "Fennek" reconnaissance tanks had reconnoitered the area, it was "taken over, house-by-house" - "under the din of the volleys fired by the 'Marder' personnel carrier's 20-mm automatic cannons, the cross-fire of machineguns and the Leopard 2 battle tanks' flank protection." The Bundeswehr recounts that engineer corps troops placed "access explosive charges" in individual buildings, while armored infantry demonstrated the "rapid capture of smaller groups of houses" and snipers "kept watch for dangerous point targets." According to the troops, the "house-to-house combat" alone does not suffice. It merely creates the "prerequisites for the rapid continuation of the attack into the depths of the flanks of enemy forces kept under comprehensive surveillance."[2]

Information Exchange with NGOs
The relevance of Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) and psychological warfare for success in combat was vividly demonstrated to the future military commanders. As a participating "CIMIC officer" reported, already before the German attack, he sought out a practice village, with the objective of "having an exchange of information with non-governmental organizations, to help complete his situation assessment." In his "conversation with the population," he had also learned "that an enemy militia leader was still inside the village." On the basis of the information achieved in this way, the German military police were "later able to arrest the man," he reports.[3] Simultaneously, the members of the Operative Information Troops (OpInfoTr) were appealing to the inhabitants of the area, to dampen their hostility: "Precisely the creation of a secure environment is decisive for the acceptance and the professionalism of our forces on a mission."[4]

Crowd Riot Control
In spite of this, the scenario of the "informational training exercise" also foresaw the handling of hostile sectors of the population. The prospective general staff officers were even given "roles to play." At one of the "training stations" to be passed, they encountered "an angry crowd carrying banners and shouting slogans." The assumed threat did not last long, according to the Bundeswehr: "Marching in step, the military police formed a human wall separating the demonstrators from the spectators, thereby preventing assaults." As the armed forces further explain, the German military police disposes of special "crowd riot control" (CRC) units, "equipped with shields, riot sticks and protective suits" and with "apprehension units" as well as "K-9 corps." The "prevailing capacity" of the so-called CRC forces, has been "significantly enhanced" by water cannon vehicles.[5] The "YAK" model vehicle in question, is equipped not only with a water cannon, but also with a "shielded operable weapons station,"[6] according to the military.

Close Range Experience
According to the Bundeswehr, this major maneuver was concluded with "combat firing," where the infantry, cavalry and helicopter units all fired live rounds of ammunition. This demonstrated to the future military commanders "what it means to coordinate troops and fire power." "The young soldiers received close range experience with the practical application of the otherwise theoretically exercised doctrine."[7] The German military has consequently designated this training of its general staff officers as being "close to reality and mission."[8] As the participating Inspector General of the Army, Lt. Gen. Bruno Kasdorf, explained, the full "spectrum" of warfare must be taught, "to be prepared for the challenges of the future."[9]

[1] ILÜ: Angehende Generalstäbler informierten sich; http://www.bundeswehr.de 10.10.2013
[2] Truppe im Angriff; http://www.bundeswehr.de 01.10.2013
[3] Gesichter der ILÜ: Der CIMIC-Mann; http://www.bundeswehr.de 09.10.2013
[4] Truppe im Angriff; http://www.bundeswehr.de 01.10.2013
[5] Kräfteaufmarsch - die Operation beginnt; http://www.bundeswehr.de 30.09.2013
[6] Bundesministerium der Verteidigung: Waffensysteme und Großgerät. Berlin 2009
[7] Truppe im Angriff; http://www.bundeswehr.de 01.10.2013
[8] Gemeinsam stärker - Info-Lehrübung Landoperationen läuft an; http://www.bundeswehr.de 24.09.2013
[9] zitiert nach: Afghanistan - Ende einer Strategie; http://www.rp-online.de 06.10.2013
http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58689

[Magda Hassan]

The Elite Wants More
2014/07/03

BERLIN
(Own report) - The CDU and Green party-affiliated foundations have been holding conferences with prominent experts to continue Germany's campaign by elite circles to promote a more aggressive German global policy. Ultimately, a "public discussion of the security policy's soft and hard factors" must take place, insisted the head of the Policy Department of the German Defense Ministry, Monday at a conference held by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. At the Heinrich Boell Foundation, just shortly before, the audience was told that "a 'pacifist Sonderweg'" (special path) cannot "be permitted." Germany must finally "come out of the comfort zone." According to the reader published by the Heinrich Boell Foundation, it must be "accepted that it may become necessary to take action outside the current international legal framework." The reader calls for the creation of a "national security bureau" within the chancellery, patterned after the US-American "National Security Council," and to significantly "upgrade" the "equipment of Germany's intelligence services." Decisions on foreign military missions should, thereby, be structurally facilitated.


Global Policy Campaign
Germany's foreign policy establishment is persistently pursuing its campaign for a more aggressive German global policy. The campaign - which the German President has repeatedly revived with demands for an expansion of German military missions and is supported by major media organs - has not made much headway. A recent opinion poll indicates that a majority in the German population favors discretion in foreign policy, while a mere 13 percent is in favor of new German military missions. (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[1]) However, the political establishment insists. Last week, two party-affiliated foundations - the Green Party-affiliated Heinrich Boell Foundation and the CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation - lent their support by holding conferences with prominent guests.

Hard Security Policy Factors
Last Monday, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation dedicated its second "Adenauer Conference" to "Germany's Role in International Security Policy." The event, in which the Chancellor's foreign policy advisor, Christoph Heusgen, personally attended, bore the thematic title "lessons learned from Afghanistan," to then focus on current and future conflicts - the "arch of crisis from Libya via Syria to Ukraine." "How can Germany Contribute to Stabilization?," was the question not only Thomas Bagger, head of Policy Planning in the German Foreign Ministry, was asked. This was after Géza von Geyr, head of the Policy Section of the Defense Ministry, had proclaimed that a "stronger disposition toward security matters" is sorely "needed" and - in this context - called for a "public discussion on the soft and hard factors of security policy," something the foreign policy establishment has been pleading for, since some time. "We are receiving a growing number of responsibilities that we cannot ignore," claims Geyr.[2]

Pacifist Sonderweg? No Thanks!
Just shortly prior to the Adenauer Conference, the Heinrich Boell Foundation had held its "Annual Foreign Policy Conference," June 19/20. At this conference, German President Joachim Gauck's initiatives for the expansion of German military missions had been thoroughly discussed, according to a conference report. There was wide-ranging consensus that Germany should "not only enhance its military capability," but that it "should use all foreign policy tools more decisively," and that "a 'pacifist Sonderweg'" cannot "be permitted." In view of the widespread popular opposition to a more aggressive global policy, the conference report explains that "conference guests pointed to the obviously growing gap between the 'Berlin [government]' and a sizable portion of the German population on questions of foreign policy."[3] That must be changed. Germany must "leave the comfort zone," insists the foundation's board member, Ralf Fuecks.[4]

Violation of International Law? No Problem!
In a supplementary reader to the "Annual Foreign Policy Conference," the Boell Foundation published papers worth noting. "German leadership," according to Bodo Weber, a Senior Associate at the Democratization Policy Council in Berlin, is "possible and makes good sense." However, it should be noted that "Germany's refusal to take on its international responsibilities," is a problem of a "lack of political will and leadership." "Berlin's already small circle of foreign policy makers and its foreign policy community" should, therefore, "seek to close ranks regardless of party affiliations and develop common concepts and initiatives." In addition, Germany must "take the lead in the revival of a common European foreign and security policy." In all this, it must be acknowledged that "the United Nations does not meet the challenges of the 21st century's global disorder." It must, therefore, be "accepted that it may become necessary to take action outside the current international legal framework."[5] Germany has demonstrated this in 1999 with the war on Yugoslavia.

Parliamentary Approval? Only Gets in the Way!
Jan Techau, Director of the Carnegie Europe, in Brussels, makes concrete proposals in the reader for a more aggressive global policy. Techau goes beyond calls for a "significant reinforcement" of the EU's foreign policy and an "expansion of the civilian and military Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) missions," to demand also a "radical reformation of the so-called German parliamentary approval prerequisite." In questions of war and peace, the German Bundestag should merely be permitted a "right of revocation." The Federal College for Security Studies in Berlin (BAKS) should be transformed into a "world-famous strategy school." For "federal 'political' civil servants," there should be "service career legal stipulations introduced, requiring training" in military policy think tanks. And finally, the BAKS should be placed under the auspices of a "National Security Bureau," an institution to be formed, which - "similar to the US National Security Council" - should be established within Berlin's Chancellery. The Ministry of Development should, according to Techau, in the Green Party foundation's reader, be transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while "the German intelligence services are in need of a significant upgrade of their technical equipment."[6]

To be Continued
The positions taken by Geyr, Weber and Techau, receiving a larger public resonance, through the party-affiliated foundations of the CDU and the Greens are simply more evidence that the campaign for a more aggressive global policy is broadly rooted in Germany's foreign policy establishment and growing stronger. It is not to be expected that the elite's campaign to impose its project on the population will subside.

More reports and background information on Germany's campaign by elite circles to promote a more aggressive German global policy can be found here: Sleeping Demons, The Re-Evaluation of German Foreign Policy, Domination over Europe, The Agenda 2020, The World's Expectations, Germany's Act of Liberation and Hegemon with a Guilty Conscience.

[1] See Die Weltpolitik-Kampagne der Eliten.
[2] "Dichte an sicherheitspolitischen Herausforderungen". http://www.kas.de 30.06.2014.
[3] Deutsche Außenpolitik: Auf dem Weg zu mehr Verantwortung? http://www.boell.de 30.06.2014.
[4] Ralf Fücks: Raus aus der Komfortzone - Deutschland auf dem Weg zu mehr internationaler Verantwortung? http://www.boell.de 23.06.2014.
[5] Bodo Weber: Deutschlands außen- und sicherheitspolitische Verweigerung. Reader zur 15. Außenpolitischen Jahrestagung der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. Berlin, Juni 2014.
[6] Jan Techau: Zu Europa und Westbindung bekennen! Reader zur 15. Außenpolitischen Jahrestagung der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. Berlin, Juni 2014.
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