Word: bundestag
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...question: "What does war mean?" War is a tricky subject in Germany. According to the Defense Ministry, German soldiers are forbidden to engage in a "war of aggression" under the German constitution. Each foreign mission that includes the Bundeswehr - the German parliamentary army - is thus governed by a Bundestag mandate. In the case of Afghanistan, "proportional" military force can be used but German soldiers must adhere to NATO's rules of engagement. (See the top 10 news stories...
...deaths of the soldiers in Kunduz had nothing to do with poor equipment or bad training. "Our soldiers were well-trained - they were ambushed," said the spokesman, who declined to give his name as per policy. As part of a new parliamentary mandate, which was passed by the Bundestag in February, German troop levels in Afghanistan will also increase from 4,500 to 5,350 later this year. (Germany is already the third-largest troop contributor after the U.S. and Britain.) The new mandate places a heavier emphasis on civilian reconstruction projects and the training of Afghan soldiers, which will...
When Germany's Deputy Chancellor and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle held a briefing for reporters in Berlin last month, he arrived exuding an aura of defiance and ebullience. It didn't last. Germany's Westerwelle had come to talk about the Bundestag's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan. Instead, he found himself bombarded with questions about a rumored rift with his boss, Chancellor Angela Merkel. "We have an absolutely untarnished relationship," Westerwelle insisted. "We text each other like there's no tomorrow...
...been abducted by the CIA in Macedonia in 2003 and taken to Afghanistan, where he was held for five months on suspicion of having links to al-Qaeda. (His detention was later revealed to be a case of mistaken identity and the case became the subject of a Bundestag inquiry.) "Gelowicz told the court that 'The Americans have brought the war to my mosque,'" defense attorney Dirk Uden tells TIME. "Gelowicz was obsessed by the idea to fight against the war on terror - he wanted jihad either in Iraq or Chechnya, wherever he could...
...controversy comes at an awkward time, with Germany under increasing pressure to contribute more troops to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Despite doubts over the German mission in Afghanistan, on Dec. 3, the Bundestag voted to extend the mandate by another year, until 2010. There are now about 4,300 German soldiers in Afghanistan - most are based in the north of the country - and Germany is the third biggest troop contributor after the U.S. and Britain. But the U.S. is looking for a bigger commitment. "More German troops would be very welcome," Richard Holbrooke, President Obama's special envoy...