[D66] German government prepares new military doctrine

[J.N.]

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/02/19/germ-f19.html

German government prepares new military doctrine
By Johannes Stern
19 February 2015

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday heralded the
adoption of a new military and security strategy for Germany. Her
speech, on the occasion of the first meeting of those preparing the
“White Paper 2016,” underscored the turn by the German ruling elite to
an aggressive foreign policy 70 years after the end of the Second World War.

Almost ten years after the publication of the last White Paper in 2006,
“a new White Paper is overdue,” von der Leyen said at the beginning of
her presentation. She referred to the changed “security environment,”
pointing in particular to “the alarming development of transnational
terrorism” and “the behavior of Russia in Ukraine,” which, she said, had
“wide-ranging consequences.”

Saying she hoped the Minsk ceasefire would be implemented, she warned
that one should “have no illusions.” She continued: “The new policy of
the Kremlin began before the crisis in Ukraine and will keep us busy for
a long time to come.”