German Navy Warned of NATO Call-up for Iraq

According to a report on Saturday in the German newspaper Die Welt, the German navy, as part of its NATO obligations, could be mobilized in the event of war against Iraq, the paper said on Saturday.

In the article, it is suggested that German ships, as part of the NATO force currently based in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, could be enrolled to escort the US fleet carrying troops or supplies towards Iraq in the event of war. Die Welt reported that such assistance has already been requested in an "unofficial manner" by Washington.

Struck says marines are in no danger of involvement

Defense Minister Peter Struck said in an updated statement on the newspaper's Web site that "German marine soldiers are in no danger of involvement in any possible Iraq conflict."

On Wednesday, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he would allow German air personnel to crew AWACS surveillance aircraft in the event of war on Iraq as long as they were seen to be involved in a NATO support role only. It was an apparent softening of the German government's previous hardline opposition to any role in a US-led offensive against Saddam Hussein's regime.

"Our alliance obligations will be met, but Germany will not take part in any military intervention," he told German television.

Campaign promises are broken again

Schroeder had said during a successful re-election campaign in September that Germany would not join in any war on Iraq, with or without a UN mandate. The staunch position was popular in Germany but caused the frostiest relations with the United States since the Second World War.

The chancellor later changed his stance, saying that while Berlin stood by its refusal to join in with any conflict, US and NATO forces would be allowed overflight rights and use of bases in Germany.