Germany has become the latest country to provide military support in the fight against Islamic State following a vote today.
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The motion to support France with Tornado reconnaissance jets, a refueling aircraft and a frigate to protect a French aircraft carrier passed by a convincing margin, as expected. Lawmakers voted in the Bundestag 445 to 146 to authorize the plan.
Being a member of the US-led coalition against Daesh militants, Germany has so far provided only logistical and technical assistance to the worldwide alliance, refraining from participation in the coalition’s airstrikes.
But reticence seemed to have melted away following the Paris attacks, and in the Netherlands, which has been bombarding the IS in Iraq, the government too is coming under pressure to widen the campaign to Syria.
This will be Germany’s biggest current military operation overseas.
The German Cabinet approved the military support mission against ISIS in Syria this week.
“The Germans can be certain that the deployment to Syria neither violates global law nor the constitution”, he told the Tagesspiegel daily on Friday.
If Germany agrees to the plan, it will send aircraft, a naval frigate and 12 hundred soldiers.
The Charles de Gaulle has launched raids against Islamic State bases since the November 13 attacks that killed 130 in Paris.
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The vote came on the day French President Francois Hollande visited the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.
