German Troops Begin Guarding U.S. Installations

January 24, 2003
Associated Press

BERLIN — The first of up to 2,600 German soldiers were deploying Friday to reinforce security at U.S. installations in Germany ahead of a possible war in Iraq.

About 300 soldiers were in the first wave being sent out to reinforce security at the bases and other complexes, strung across southern and western Germany, the German Defense Ministry said. One of the soldiers’ main duties will be pulling guard at the gates.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder pledged last year that the Bundeswehr would help secure U.S. installations as he tried to balance his opposition to a war on Iraq with Germany’s alliance with the United States.

He also has guaranteed that the U.S. military can overfly Germany and use its bases on German soil to support an attack on Iraq.

It isn’t the first time that German soldiers have pitched in to help guarantee security at U.S. facilities in the country, where more than 116,000 Americans are stationed. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, hundreds of German soldiers and military police helped patrol the installations.

Many of the troops going into action Friday are young Germans doing their compulsory nine-month military service. They will carry their units’ standard weapons, generally pistols or assault rifles, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity.

No time limit has been set for the German deployment, which will be gradually increased.

Schroeder’s anti-war stance helped him to a narrow re-election win last September, but angered the U.S. administration.

This week, with a key report from U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq approaching and Washington showing impatience with the process, he has stiffened his opposition. After weeks of hedging, Schroeder now says that Germany will not endorse an attack on Iraq in the U.N. Security Council, which it joined Jan. 1.

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1529629.php