Germany offers troops for anti-terror campaign

BERLIN -- The German chancellor pledged up to 3,900 German troops for the U.S. war on terrorism Tuesday, pushing the nation toward its most far-reaching participation in military action since World War II.

Gerhard Schroeder's decision to seek a leading role in the anti-terror campaign is a new step in Germany's quest for greater world influence as it sheds its reluctance to join in warfare.

However, the chancellor said there were no plans to send ground troops, and the defense minister said German forces would not necessarily be deployed inside Afghanistan.

Germany would offer armored vehicles equipped to detect nuclear, biological and chemical weapons; special forces; a medical evacuation unit; and air transport and naval forces to protect shipping lanes, Schroeder told a news conference.

'Historic decision'

"This is an important, fundamental and -- if you like -- historic decision," Schroeder said, adding he expects parliament to give its approval next week.

Schroeder and key aides have prepared a wavering public for weeks for a German military role, saying the nation could not stand aside and provide only financial backing as it did during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Japan, another country haunted by memories of World War II, loosened postwar restrictions on its military Oct. 29. It has been considering various non-combat roles, including sending warships and personnel to help with refueling and reconnaissance missions in the Indian Ocean.

To the forefront

Schroeder's offer, though short on specifics, would put Germany in the forefront of U.S. allies supporting the campaign -- second only to Britain, which is flying refueling and reconnaissance missions in support of U.S. airstrikes and has also fired Tomahawk missiles at Afghan targets.

Canada, another major contributor with ships, aircraft and special forces, has provided 2,000 personnel. France has about 2,000 military personnel currently involved in the effort, counting naval, air force, and intelligence, according to a French official in Washington.

Italy has offered an armored regiment, attack helicopters, fighter jets and specialists in nuclear, chemical and germ warfare.

Other contributors include Australia with SAS special forces, war ships and aircraft; New Zealand with a commitment of special forces and humanitarian aid, and Turkey, which pledged an anti-guerrilla mountain warfare unit.

Schroeder said his government's positive response to specific U.S. requests for military support underscored "a solidarity that I have expressed again and again" since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. The Cabinet would approve the plan Wednesday, he said.

But he also sought to address concerns among many Germans -- including members of his center-left governing coalition -- that the envisaged deployment is a step too far in military involvement abroad, which began after Germany reunited in 1990.

He stressed the importance of political and diplomatic efforts to hold the international coalition against terrorism together, the humanitarian mission to help Afghans, economic sanctions aimed at undermining terror networks and cooperation of secret services.

"We mustn't forget that the military measures are only a part of the measures against international terrorism," Schroeder said.

Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping told ZDF television that a deployment would come "not as fast as many people believe, because it requires careful preparation -- and the requests are in no way such that they would necessarily be headed for Afghanistan."

Scharping insisted the proposal to be put before parliament this week was not "a blank check aimed at being able to deploy the German armed forces worldwide."

Germany has gradually relaxed a postwar taboo against sending troops abroad, starting with support for a Cambodian peacekeeping mission in 1992.

German troops have helped hunt war criminals in Bosnia and taken part in NATO airstrikes on Yugoslavia. In another milestone, Germany in September took command of a 1,000-strong military force to protect international observers in Macedonia.

Schroeder's plans have sparked concerns in his own Social Democratic Party and his junior coalition partner, the Greens. Greens leaders have criticized U.S. strikes that have killed Afghan civilians and called for a break in the military campaign.

"Now that we're facing the question of participating in this war, the answer can only be: No," Greens lawmaker Hans-Christian Stroebele told Phoenix TV.

But party moderates aligned with Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, the most prominent Greens figure, support Schroeder's course.

"One must also use military means in the effort to oust the Taliban regime," said Angelika Beer, the ranking Greens member on parliament's defense committee.

Despite the divisions, support for the military deployment appeared to be broad. Only the former East German communists are uniformly opposed to a German military role.