German defense minister harshly criticizes US and Turkey

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Saturday condemned the Turkish incursion into northern Syria, while questioning the reliability of the US as a strategic partner.

Kramp-Karrenbauer said that US forces withdrawing from northern Syria and leaving Kurdish forces behind would be a “devastating” long-term development for NATO.

“That sets in motion a real question about the reliability of our strongest alliance partner in the world,” said Kramp-Karrenbauer at a Christian Social Union (CSU) party summit in Munich.

Directly addressing Turkey’s Syria offensive, Kramp-Karrenbauer said that a NATO member violating the border of a neighboring country by force “endangers the foundation of the post-war order.”

Read more: Germany promises US greater military involvement

Kramp-Karrenbauer spoke at summit of the CSU, the CDU’s Bavarian sister party

Germany needs to do more

The leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the CSU’s sister party, also called for a more assertive German foreign policy in addressing strategic issues.

“When was the last time that we as Germany, and we, the CDU and CSU, actually made a substantive proposal on these international issues?” said Kramp-Karrenbauer.

“I cannot listen to it anymore that we are concerned, that we are observing with great concern, that we are looking on,” she added. 

“We are strong, it is incumbent upon us, and at some point we have to finally give our own political answers.”

Read more: Germany’s foreign policy perspectives

• Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment

  Faulty tanks and grounded helicopters — today in the German military

  Frustrated soldiers and a defense system struggling to repair its way into a fully functioning military. And a new defense minister who will have to regain confidence from army representatives.

• Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment

  Defective helicopters

  Ageing helicopters have proved a big hurdle for the German military. The Bundeswehr has grounded all its 53 Tiger helicopters, after engineers said technical faults needed attention. Defense services were also forced to recall 22 Sea Lynx anti-submarine helicopters in 2014, confirming newspaper reports of malfunction.

• Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment

  Manufacturing fault

  The Eurofighter is the German military’s most modern fighter jet. As a result of a manufacturing error, only four of the 128 planes were in action in 2018. A pilot was killed in June 2019 when two Eurofighters collided in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, prompting fresh calls for further restrictions on the plane’s use.

• Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment

  Let’s replace it… as soon as we make a decision

  Tornado fighters have been flying for over 40 years. CDU plans to replace the ageing planes were thrown into question by the center-left SPD in February 2019. But some officials claim flying the Tornado after 2030 could cost Germany around €8 billion ($9 billion) in repair costs.

• Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment

  Not making any tracks

  New Puma tanks for the German military came into use in 2018. Only 27 of the 71 Pumas were immediately ready for deployment — which prompted a fresh backlash against then Defense Secretary Ursula von der Leyen.

• Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment

  Glitches at sea

  New F125 frigates — but they are’t ready yet. German plans to replace the old frigates stalled in 2018, due to there not being enough spare parts to make them seaworthy. Officials also said Germany would have to soon stop signing up to NATO and UN missions in the same year — the country just did not have enough ships spare.

• Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment

  Headache for AKK?

  She has not been in the job long, but Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has inherited a huge problem. Old equipment being grounded is now a regular and pressing occurrence. Former Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen signed a deal to develop a “Future Combat Air System” in June — which is scheduled to replace Germany’s air force by 2040.

  Author: Sven Pöhle / db

More money for defense

Kramp-Karrenbauer added that Germany can build credibility as a strategic partner by adhering to NATO’s request that members spend 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. The defense minister has pushed for a spending increase since taking office in July.

The US has demanded that NATO members reach the 2% spending mark by 2024. US President Donald Trump has threatened to take the US out of NATO if partners do not spend more on defense.

Read more: Opinion: More money won’t alone fix Germany’s military woes

On Thursday, Germany’s Deutsche Presse-Agentur news agency reported that Germany would spend €50 million ($55,800) on defense in 2020, a 6.4% increase from 2019. Germany’s defense ministry said the country plans to reach 1.5% of GDP on defense spending by 2024, and reach the NATO’s 2% mark by 2031.

wmr/jlw (dpa, Reuters)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/german-defense-minister-harshly-criticizes-us-and-turkey/a-50900611?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf