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A week after unveiling a new long-term vision for its military, Germany is agonizing about its global role as former generals attack the government for lacking a strategy.
Emerging from the shadow of its Nazi past, Germany has sought to expand its global role in the last decade and has some 9,000 troops in places like the Balkans, Congo and Middle East.
But pictures of troops in Afghanistan desecrating skulls and incidents off the Lebanese coast, where the navy is part of an international peacekeeping force, have raised questions about whether the German army is suited to taking on much more.
Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung, who last week said he wanted to boost the number of German troops in international missions, underlined the dilemma on Oct. 30 when he talked about withdrawing troops from Bosnia.
His comments struck a chord with many Germans and some lawmakers who are uneasy with rising military commitments.
An Emnid poll for broadcaster N24 released on Oct. 31 showed that 69 percent of Germans think the Bundeswehr is overburdened and 60 percent oppose further overseas deployments.
“We want to carry out the jobs we do reliably and successfully,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Gernot Erler. “You cannot constantly expand the numbers,” he told German radio.
Although Jung had previously signaled a desire to pull peacekeepers from Bosnia, some commentators saw his call for a gradual pullout of Germany
