Merkel Skeptical About Sending German Troops to Middle East

In an interview with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, Merkel said she saw other opportunities for Germany to help out in the region, such as providing training for the police and military forces.

The German leader said the capacity of the country's armed forces, or Bundeswehr, were "largely exhausted."

"We are in Congo, we provide the most troops in the Balkans, and we have our largest contingent in Afghanistan," she said.

"As Germans, we should proceed in this region with utmost caution," she added.

While Germany has not ruled out sending troops, officials insist that any talk of a contribution is premature until a UN mandate for a multinational force is drawn up.

In the newspaper interview Merkel said besides Germany helping train Lebanese units, one of the most important areas was aiding in the "stabilization of the Lebanese reconciliation process."

She also made clear that Germany's history gave it certain responsibilities.

"It is a historical duty of German policy to strongly support the right of Israel to exist," she said. "We have to be clear on the fact that the current crisis was sparked by Hezbollah. Hezbollah has fired rockets at Israel for months and kidnapped Israeli soldiers."

Divided opinion

The question of German participation in an international peacekeeping contingent has been a controversial one in Germany.

Jewish groups in Germany have been fiercely opposed, but members of the power-sharing government say the country cannot turn its back on its international responsibilities. Up until now, Merkel seemed to be keeping her options open.

As recently as Thursday, she told the daily Der Tagesspiegel: "This question is not one we have to answer for the time being,"

But Germany's main Jewish group has said it would be deeply unhappy if German soldiers were involved.

"Many survivors of the Holocaust are still living in Israel and I don't know how they would react if German troops had to act against an Israeli soldier who was defending his country," Stephan Kramer, the Secretary-general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told German public radio last week.

German politicians are divided on the question.