Germans will Man AWACS Planes in Case of War: Schroeder

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 13, 2002

Germans will Man AWACS Planes in Case of War: Schroeder

German soldiers operating the AWACS surveillance planes will remain at their posts in the event of a war on Iraq, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Thursday.

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German soldiers operating the AWACS surveillance planes will remain at their posts in the event of a war on Iraq, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Thursday.

"The obligations for the alliance will be fulfilled," the chancellor told the ARD television. "Of course it means that AWACS(airborne early warning and control system) planes with German soldiers operating them will be deployed to protect the alliance area," he noted.

The German government insisted on its stance of rejecting direct involvement in the possible war, an attitude that helped the government win last September's general election.

The AWACS surveillance planes were not instruments with which awar could be waged operationally, he said. A total of 17 AWACS planes are stationed in Geilenkirchen, western Germany, with some German crews manning them.

Chancellor Schroeder has shown a slight softening of his anti-war and non-participation attitude. He assured the United States last month that Berlin would allow unrestricted over-flight and use of US bases in Germany in case of war. His statement was believed to be an attempt to warm the relations with Washington that were chilled by Germany's firm objection to a war against Iraq.

Angelika Beer, chairman of the Green party and junior governing partner of Schroeder's Social Party of Deutschland (SPD), said last week her party was opposed to offering any support, without a United Nations mandate, for the United States in case of a war. This included AWACS surveillance planes with German personnel.

"It's not up to Mrs. Beer to decide on this issue," Schroeder told ARD.

Gernot Erler, vice-chairman of the SPD's parliamentarian group,also expressed objections to a deployment of German soldiers operating AWACS planes.

With the AWACS planes, Germany would overstep a "red line". The"red line" was that Germany did not participate in an Iraq war either with soldiers or money, he noted.

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