Lawmakers approved Friday plans for Germany to take on a direct role in the battle against the Islamic State group in Syria, answering France’s appeal for help after the deadly Paris attacks.
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The ship has launched raids on Islamic State targets since the attacks in Paris on November 13 in which 130 people were killed.
The coalition’s strikes have so far failed to dislodge the fighters from a swathe of territory in Syria and Iraq where they have proclaimed a state.
During a debate before the vote, Norbert Roettgen, chairman of the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and MP of Merkel’s conservatives, told fellow lawmakers that Europe must press on with diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, but that the military action was vital to achieving peace in the region.
The lower house of parliament backed the plan on Friday, with 445 voting in favor, 146 against and seven abstaining.
The Dutch cabinet however said it will reach a decision to take part in the US-led operation only once “all military and political aspects” of the Syrian conflict had been discussed.
Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. This was their first overseas combat mission since 1945.
On Wednesday British Prime Minister David Cameron won approval in Parliament for the RAF to join in bombing missions over Syria. It is unclear where the German troops will actually be stationed, but in keeping with the German Constitution’s ban on aggressive warfare, they will likely not be in a combat situation.
In total, Germany plans to send up to 1,200 troops to support the global alliance in its anti-terror actions.
“There’s nothing in this mandate about the deployment of ground troops”, the German leader’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said.
But the opposition is uneasy about this military mission overseas and fears it will increase the risk of terror attacks in Germany.
Deutsche Welle asks whether this is the end of pacifist Germany.
The defence minister, Ursula von der Leyen sought to reassure voters nervous of foreign intervention, saying that Germany had not been drawn into war against its will.
The Germans aren’t the only ones making changes to their strategy against Islamic State. He noted that with hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees arriving in Germany this year, the effects of the war in their homeland have already been touching German towns and cities for months.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel, casts her vote at the German Federal Parliament in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Dec.4, 2015. “It’s astonishing to see how rapidly the mood changed regarding military intervention”.
