German Defense Minister von der Leyen has met with Iraqi officials to determine how to continue to assist authorities in the country. But a debate about the Bundeswehr's role in the region could soften its commitment.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
Advertisement
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Iraq on Saturday to discuss her country's intention to develop its military assistance program in the country.
"Now it is important to shape and protect the reconstruction of the country under a new mandate," said von der Leyen. "Germany is ready to continue helping Iraq get back on its feet. That is why I am here."
At the time, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Baghdad wanted a "commitment from Germany" for "other forms of engagement," including training and logistics.
Von der Leyen's visit comes as Germany mulls a greater military role in the region. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday suggested that Berlin must be ready to respond if chemical weapons are used in war zones.
"To simply say we can look away if somewhere chemical weapons are being used and international conventions are not kept, that can't be the answer," Merkel told lawmakers.
But the Social Democrats (SPD), a junior coalition partner in Merkel's government, had said it would only support a German response to a chemical weapons attack if it had UN backing.
Some Germans are wary of foreign military interventions by the Bundeswehr, in part due to the country's experience during World War II.
It is up to the German parliament to deploy the Bundeswehr on foreign missions.
Since West Germany's accession to NATO, Berlin has supported numerous operations involving the trans-Atlantic alliance. Since 1990, Germany's Bundeswehr has been deployed on "out of area" missions as well.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Hanschke
Germany's role in NATO
West Germany officially joined the trans-Atlantic alliance in 1955. However, it wasn't until after reunification in 1990 that the German government considered "out of area" missions led by NATO. From peacekeeping to deterrence, Germany's Bundeswehr has since been deployed in several countries across the globe in defense of its allies.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Hanschke
Bosnia: Germany's first NATO mission
In 1995, Germany participated in its first "out of area" NATO mission as part of a UN-mandated peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the deployment, German soldiers joined other NATO member forces to provide security in the wake of the Bosnian War. The peacekeeping mission included more than 60,000 troops from NATO's member states and partners.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/H. Delic
Keeping the peace in Kosovo
Since the beginning of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, some 8,500 German soldiers have been deployed in the young country. In 1999, NATO launched an air assault against Serbian forces accused of carrying out a brutal crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists and their civilian supporters. Approximately 550 Bundeswehr troops are still stationed in Kosovo.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/V.Xhemaj
Patrolling the Aegean Sea
In 2016, Germany deployed its combat support ship "Bonn" to lead a NATO mission backed by the EU in the Aegean Sea. The mission included conducting "reconnaissance, monitoring and surveillance of illegal crossings" in Greek and Turkish territorial waters at the height of the migration crisis. Germany, Greece and Turkey had requested assistance from the trans-Atlantic alliance.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/M.Schreiber
Nearly two decades in Afghanistan
In 2003, Germany's parliament voted to send Bundeswehr troops to Afghanistan in support of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Germany became the third-largest contributor of troops and led the Regional Command North. More than 50 German troops were killed during the mission. Germany withdrew the last of its troops in June 2021 as part of the US-led exit from Afghanistan.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Niedringhaus
German tanks in Lithuania
Forming part of NATO's "enhanced forward presence" in the Baltic states, 450 Bundeswehr soldiers have been deployed to Lithuania since 2017. The battalion-size battlegroups there are led by Germany, Canada, the UK and US to reinforce collective defense on the alliance's eastern flank. It forms the "biggest reinforcement of Alliance collective defense in a generation," according to NATO.
