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CNN Sunday Morning
Germany Offers Military Support to U.S.
Aired November 11, 2001 - 07:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: When it comes to the war on terror, Germany is a divided country.
One poll shows a majority of Germans in the eastern part of the country oppose the air strikes in Afghanistan. Most of those in western Germany support military action.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, meanwhile, has pledged unlimited solidarity with America.
CNN Berlin Bureau Chief, Bettina Luscher reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETTINA LUSCHER, CNN BERLIN BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): It's getting serious. German troops are getting ready to join the war against terror; their widest-ranging military action since World War II. But how good are they are, and what can they contribute?
HEINZ SCHULTE, MILITARY ANALYST: That the Germans have sent the best they have. It is quite clear that the Americans and the Germans very carefully consulted before engaging these troops. And if you look at them, they are not run-of-the-mill troops. They are very specialist (sic) forces, with very specialist (sic) equipment.
LUSCHER: Equipment like the armored vehicle called Fox, equipped with sensors that detects nuclear, biological and chemical weapons or material.
SCHULTE: And what is important is not the vehicle itself, but the state of art (sic) equipment inside that helps you to detect, and what is probably equally important, combat these kinds of (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
LUSCHER: Then they have the KSK Special Forces Commandos, considered Germany's toughest fighters. Their specialty: rescue of hostages. They are trained in survival in extreme conditions in mountains and desserts.
Germany will provide about 100 Special Forces soldiers to the war against terror. Troops that Schulte says are as good as any U.S. or British forces, and will be available to relieve those forces already in Afghanistan. SCHULTE: The German naval contribution will be, A, to relieve British and American naval forces elsewhere, and B, to help protect them against certain threats. Here comes to mind immediately, the mine threat. German mine warfare capability is second to none.
LUSCHER: But Schulte says you can only to war with what you have. And critics say the German government has not done enough to upgrade its military.
One of them: former Defense Minister Volxer Ruehe.
VOLXER RUEHE, FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER: We must develop our own contributions, and on this way we have started in the early '90s. But now the right-wing government has not spent enough money to develop these German capabilities.
LUSCHER: Ruehe says Germany should spend at least another $2 billion every year to prepare for today's new challenges.
(on camera): Experts say the German offer is an important military contribution. But more important, they say, is the political message it sends: that Germany will stand side-by-side with its allies.
Bettina Luscher, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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