BERLIN - A prospect of German warships being sent to patrol the troubled waters of the Strait of Hormuz has ignited a debate in Berlin. Critics are warning against joining a potential US- and UK-led mission.
Proponents of the London-proposed mission say Germany should take part just because it is an inherent part of global trade. “Hardly any other country is as dependent on the freedom of international shipping as export champion Germany,” former envoy to the US Wolfgang Ischinger told Die Welt. That said, Germans should not just “watch from the sidelines,” he argued.
His words were echoed by the influential Association of German Industries, whose president told the paper that such a mission would be “a question of solidarity among us Europeans.”
The opposition slammed the proposal, warning that events could ultimately spin out of control. Germany “should not walk into the trap of [US President Donald] Trump and his poodle [UK Prime Minister Boris] Johnson and let itself be led into a conflict or the preparation for a war against Iran,” Sevim Dagdelen, a Left Party MP, was quoted by Deutsche Welle as warning.
The Social Democrats (SPD), the junior coalition partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition government, were equally unappreciative of the idea. Karl-Heinz Brunner, an SPD member of the parliamentary defense committee, said that while maritime shipping is important, securing it could be done through diplomacy.
“In the current situation, military options could contribute to further destabilization,” he cautioned. ...(More on P4)...(10)