Berlin Sends Mixed Signals on Iraq Issue

The fog seems to be gradually lifting on a tricky defense debate that has occupied the German government for weeks and provided ample ammunition to the conservative opposition.

After days of intense speculation, unconfirmed media reports and a slew of allegations regarding Germany’s exact role in the case of military action against Iraq and military requests from Israel, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has finally spoken out in clear and unambiguous language.

In extracts of a newspaper interview released on Tuesday, Chancellor Schröder confirmed that Germany will provide Israel with anti-missile systems.

"If the Israeli government feels it needs this added security, we will help -- and promptly," Schröder told the weekly newspaper Die Zeit. "This is our moral and historical obligation... The security of the Israeli state and its citizens is of utmost importance to us."

Patriot missiles only for defense purposes

At the same time the Chancellor stressed that the Patriot missiles were purely defensive weapons. "They offer protection against missile attacks. The security of the state of Israel and its citizens is of prime importance to us," he said.

The Social Democrat foreign expert, Gernot Erler defended the government's plan to deliver missiles to Israel.

He said the request from Jerusalem had nothing to do with a U.S. request for German support in a war against Iraq.

The German Defense Ministry said Israel had long ago expressed interest in acquiring new surplus Patriot missiles from Germany and had renewed its request a week ago.

The Israeli embassy said the request was made a year ago, but that it had taken on a new urgency due to the looming Iraq crisis. Israel is preparing for possible retaliation from Iraq in the event of U.S. military action against the country.

The U.S.-built Patriots are designed to intercept and shoot down incoming ballistic missiles and have a limited range. Additionally, the fact that the distance between Iraq and Israel is small, means that the early warning period is short.

In military circles there is a agreement that every additional defense system improves security according to the newspaper Berliner Zeitung.

In the 1991 Gulf War Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel, though the missiles have been updated since then.

German military supply to Israel a sensitive issue

Though the Chancellor’s ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens have denied that such a military delivery to Israel would conflict with their vocal opposition to any future U.S.-led war against Iraq, there are indications that the issue is a delicate one.

The deputy head of the Social Democrats, Michael Müller described Israel’s request as "sensitive" and said that it would land the coalition in a difficult situation. The request, he said couldn’t just be answered with a "simple nod of the head".

Even Green Party Parliamentary leader Winfried Hermann is concerned that Chancellor Schröder and Foreign Minister Fischer’s emphasis that Germany will not take part in military action against Iraq, could now be interpreted loosely.

He said that the delivery is "part of a whole concept of Germany's indirect participation in a military exchange." Hermann told the newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau that the German government should "keep their fingers off it."

Schröder says "no" to U.S. request for Fuchs vehicles

Meanwhile in a news conference on Wednesday Chancellor Schröder also shed more light on the much-speculated wish-list of the United States on German support in a war against Iraq.

The Chancellor confirmed that Germany had agreed to grant flyover rights for U.S. forces and transport troops through Germany in the event of military action against Iraq. He also said that Washington had asked Berlin to specifically provide defense systems against chemical, biological and nuclear attack as well as military police, missile defense systems and financial and material help for possible reconstruction of Iraq.

But Schröder made it clear that Germany would refuse the use of its Fuchs armored vehicles stationed in Kuwait for any U.S-led military action against Iraq.

He told reporters it remained "clear as glass" that the German Parliament had only allowed a mandate for a twelve-month deployment in the "Enduring Freedom" action in the war against international terrorism.

"We don’t have the intention of moving away from this mandate," he said. Germany will not be part of a military intervention in Iraq, he added.

Fuchs for Israel but no more

The German Chancellor also said that Germany would also fulfill another Israeli request of providing some of its Fuchs armored vehicles, which are equipped to detect chemical, biological and nuclear contamination since there would be use to protect Israel’s own population.

But Schröder ruled out any further military help to Israel.

"We do not intend to provide further resources beyond what I have said, and definitely no more personnel," Schröder said.

Asked if Germany would help rebuild Iraq after a war, Schröder said, "We expect that there will be no need for a military intervention and that is the German government’s political goal, and I think it would be wrong to assume the country will have to be rebuilt."

Schröder’s clear statements lay to rest speculation over the mission of German troops stationed in Kuwait in a possible U.S.-led war on Iraq. There are currently 52 soldiers and six fox reconnaissance armoured vehicles based in Kuwait.

Schröder criticised for stance on U.S.

Schröder’s permission for U.S. forces to use German airspace and allow them transit rights within Germany in the event of war against Iraq has led to criticism even within the ruling coalition.

Angelika Beer, the Green Party’s expert on defense matters questioned the legitimacy of the decision.

"If there is no clear international law mandating a war, then there can be no decree granting airspace, because this would effectively constitute involvement in a war violating international law, something the Chancellor has ruled out," she said.

Germany’s conservative opposition has shown itself to be unsatisfied with Chancellor Schröder’s method of dealing with U.S. requests.

Wolfgang Schäuble, the foreign policy expert of the Christian Democratic Party said that the Chancellor’s explanations were not satisfactory. The Parliamentary Chairman of the Free Democrats (FDP), Wolfgang Gerhardt said that Schröder’s explanations do not end the discussion within the ruling coalition.

There are now fears that Schröder’s categorical refusal in letting the U.S. use its Fuchs vehicles might throw a shadow on already strained U.S.-German relations that were beginning to show signs of improvement of late.