INTERVIEW-Germany may face more demands from US after vote
Source: Reuters
By Christian Ruettger BERLIN, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Germany could face greater demands from Washington to do more in hot spots such as Afghanistan and Iraq if Democrats take control of the U.S. Congress in elections next week, an expert in Germany's foreign ministry said. Karsten Voigt, the coordinator for German-American relations in the ministry, told Reuters it would be wrong to expect a new Congress to be more in tune with European sensitivities even if U.S. President George W. Bush's Republicans suffer a setback. "They will be representing American interests. And therefore, the same Democrats who are critical of Bush will tell us they need our help, that we need to do more," Voigt said late on Tuesday. He said calls from Washington for Germany to send more soldiers to Afghanistan and shift troops to the violent south could grow louder. A push for stronger German financial support for stabilisation efforts in Iraq might also result, Voigt said. Recent polls suggest such strong Democratic gains are possible in the Nov. 7 congressional election amid public dissatisfaction with Bush and growing doubts about the Iraq war. Germany opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and has refused to send troops to the country, but has helped train Iraqi security personnel in the United Arab Emirates and provided humanitarian aid. Germany also has a contingent of about 2,900 peacekeepers in Afghanistan, mainly in the relatively peaceful north. Demands for Germany to send additional troops would likely meet strong resistance in a country which is in the midst of a fierce debate about how much its military should do abroad. Voigt said he could not envisage the German parliament supporting shifting troops to Afghanistan's increasingly violent south in the current environment. "That doesn't change the fact that I believe America would like us to do this and that the Democrats will seize on it," Voigt said. Germany has a total of roughly 9,000 troops in foreign hot spots including the Balkans, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Middle East. The country undertook its first combat operations since World War Two just seven years ago when it participated in NATO air strikes in the former Yugoslavia. A controversial decision to send German marines to patrol the Lebanese coast to help enforce a truce with Israel and recent pictures of troops in Afghanistan desecrating skulls have raised doubts in Germany about its military operations.
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