Germany Exploring Major Structural Reform to Make Army Fit for War
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Alaina
- . November 15, 2023
- . Update: November 15, 2023 5:26 pm
With two wars taking much of the world’s attention, Germany wants to bring about fundamental changes to its army. Boris Pistorius, Germany Defense Minister, pledged to make the Bundeswehr (German army) the backbone of deterrence and collective defense in Europe.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was a turning point, as said by the German chancellor Olaf Scholz, a “Zeitenwende”, a historic turning point for Europe and Germany. “Germans must therefore ask, ‘What capabilities do we need in order to counter this threat.” And Scholz announced €100 billion fund to bolster the German military.
If Germany goes ahead with this plan, it would represent the largest absolute jump in German military spending since World War II. The country’s leaders are vowing to transform Germany into a military power capable of taking responsibility for Europe’s security.
Only Rhetoric or Will Germany Actuate it
It remains to be seen whether Germany will actually go with plans to overhaul and strengthen its military to meet the world’s new security demands. Germany continues to be stuck with its dark Nazi past. And German soldiers are time and again implicated in high-profile cases of right-wing extremism – mainly the Kommando Spezialkrafte (K.S.K) (German army’s special forces).
And Germany’s plans or rhetoric hasn’t threatened Russia either. Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said its well known in history that Germany is largely defined by its aversion to extreme nationalism and militarism. And West-Germany population have been wary of wars and fearful that it would provoke Russia.
But the German Defense minister called for a change of mentality. “At stake is the security of our country, and thus the foundation for social coexistence, progress and economic growth. As a state and a society, we need to be able to defend ourselves and be resilient so that we can continue to live in peace, freedom and security in the future.”
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Lot of Pressure on Germany
Pistorius acknowledged that the Bundeswehr would still be forced to prioritize for the foreseeable future after decades of neglect in which necessary military structures and capabilities had been given up.
Meanwhile, there’s pressure on Germany to stick by its pledge to permanently deploy a combat brigade to Lithuania and allocating €8 billion in 2024 on military support for Ukraine. Furthermore, Germany has made lofty promises of troop contingents – 30,000 troops, 85 ships and jets.
