Berlin to drag out decision on sending AWACS planes to Afghanistan until September: report
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Berlin, July 26, IRNA
Germany-Afghanistan-AWACS
The German government is deliberately delaying a decision on a NATO request until September to send German- based AWACS planes to war-stricken Afghanistan, the weekly Der Spiegel news magazine said in a report to be published on Sunday.
Berlin is to pre-occupy NATO with technical questions on the controversial AWACS mission in Afghanistan.
The move is aimed at defusing a likely domestic political conflict within the German ruling government coalition, composed of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats.
Several Social Democratic as well as opposition politicians have expressed serious doubts on the AWACS operation which may need green light by the German parliament.
Government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said the NATO request had yet to be discussed in the military committee of the western alliance.
Only after that the issue could be dealt with on the political level, added Wilhelm.
NATO's military leaders in Afghanistan have asked the western pact to send surveillance planes in a bid to combat the Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgency.
NATO owns a fleet of 17 Boeing-made Airborne Warning and Control System(AWACS) radar aircraft, located in the west German town of Geilenkirchen.
Around a third of the 1,600 AWACS personnel at the Geilenkirchen base are German.
The German military deployment in Afghanistan has for months been nearing the limit of 3,500 soldiers as mandated by the parliament.
Berlin has indicated it wants to increase its number of troops by 1,000 after the present Afghan mandate expires in October.
Most Germans oppose the Afghan mission, according to various opinion polls.
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