Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has condemned the US and Turkey for endangering the stability of the NATO alliance. She also called on Germany to be more assertive in helping solve international conflicts.
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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."
Kramp-Karrenbauer spoke at summit of the CSU, the CDU's Bavarian sister partyImage: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Kneffel
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."
Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment
Germany's military faces almost daily reports on new problems with its hardware: planes and helicopters on the ground, tanks and ships not operational. The list goes on.
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Faulty tanks and grounded helicopters
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.
Image: Getty Images/V. Wieker
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.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Carsten Rehder
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.
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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.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Udo Zander
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.
Image: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images
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.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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.
Image: Reuters/H. Hanschke
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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.
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.
