The German military is still in the process of restructuring -- changing a Cold War force into one more easily deployable and better suited to missions like those it faces in Lebanon and Afghanistan. The financial commitment, however, has steadily decreased as a percent of gross domestic product since the mid-1980s until the election of Mrs. Merkel. According to the 2006 edition of "The Military Balance," an annual publication of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Germany's defense spending amounts to 1.4 percent of its GDP -- in contrast to Italy's 2 percent, the United Kingdom's 2.3 percent, France's 2.6 percent, Turkey's 3.1 percent and the United States' 4 percent. This trend needs to be reversed.
Angela Merkel arrives in Washington today wearing two additional hats -- chair of the Group of Eight industrialized nations and the European Union -- and Washington policy-makers should be pleased that the German chancellor has made strengthening trans-Atlantic relations a priority.
Coming off a year of domestic successes, including a rebound in Germany's previously stagnant economy, Mrs. Merkel brings a level-headed approach to foreign policy sorely lacking in her predecessor. While the EU's internal problems -- the rejection of the EU constitution, for example -- will understandably demand much of Mrs. Merkel's attention, she has the opportunity to continue the rapprochement with the United States. In addition to stronger economic ties, which the chancellor has advocated, a good way for Germany to improve its relationship with the United States is by bolstering its military and increasing its commitment to share the burden of fighting the international war against Islamofascism.
Germany currently deploys 9,000 troops in Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Balkans, and while this commitment is laudable, Germany should lead continental Europe to higher levels of individual military spending in order to play a larger role in confronting the collective security threat that the West now faces. Germany will not send soldiers to Iraq, Mrs. Merkel stated flatly in an interview published in the Financial Times yesterday, but it will "be in a position to do more outside of Iraq, for instance by training police officers." The chancellor will also discuss stability in Afghanistan and the Middle East at large during her meeting with Mr. Bush today. Although 2,700 German troops are included in the NATO force in Afghanistan, which is the third-largest commitment after the United States and the United Kingdom, the German soldiers are limited by parliamentary mandate to operating in southern Afghanistan, only during emergency situations and only in a limited way.
The German military is still in the process of restructuring -- changing a Cold War force into one more easily deployable and better suited to missions like those it faces in Lebanon and Afghanistan. The financial commitment, however, has steadily decreased as a percent of gross domestic product since the mid-1980s until the election of Mrs. Merkel. According to the 2006 edition of "The Military Balance," an annual publication of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Germany's defense spending amounts to 1.4 percent of its GDP -- in contrast to Italy's 2 percent, the United Kingdom's 2.3 percent, France's 2.6 percent, Turkey's 3.1 percent and the United States' 4 percent. This trend needs to be reversed.
From Charlemagne through Frederick the Great and von Blucher, who along with the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, Germany has a proud and strong military tradition that preceded its evil Nazi regime of the 20th century. A democratic Germany can rebuild a military capable of better participating in the struggle against Islamic extremism without returning to its militarism. Germany must overcome its understandable distaste for military prowess. Given the dangers the world now faces, the civilized world needs a strong and strongly armed Germany.
