BERLIN – Germany’s armed forces will come under a new security and defense strategy from 2016, the German government has announced.
Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced in Berlin on Tuesday that Germany, which has been traditionally hesitant in taking part in international military operations mainly because of its Nazi past, would act “without any taboos”.
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Speaking at the start of a meeting of experts, civil and military officials and politicians on the construction of a new defense strategy for Germany, der Leyen said: “Today, we are beginning our work on a new White Paper on the security policy and the future of our armed forces, the Bundeswehr.”
She said the White Paper would form the basic strategic document of the German military.
Germany has long opposed providing weapons to parties in conflict zones, but decided last year to send arms and ammunition to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in their fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
