Discussion Session with Dr. Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg

German Defence Minister Dr. Karl-Theodor Freiherr zu Guttenberg talked to the Munich Young Leaders about the opportunities and challenges connected with the foreign missions of the German Army. The discussion centred on the question of the framework in and the extent to which the German Army should in future become involved in foreign military missions.

Zu Guttenberg explained the change in the strategy of the international community with regard to its involvement in Afghanistan in the wake of the London conference and spoke about aspects of the new mandate for the German Army’s mission. Training the Afghan security forces now took pride of place, so that in the next few years responsibility could be transferred to the Afghans, and German soldiers could look forward to coming home. Zu Guttenberg also commented on the Iranian nuclear programme. He thought that what Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian foreign minister, had had to say in Munich was rather disappointing. Iran was obviously still playing for time with regard to reaching an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA). For this reason he believed it was now up to the UN Security Council to think about imposing additional sanctions.

This report was written by Munich Young Leader Dr. Hartmut Philippe, Foreign Policy Adviser, CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group, German Parliament.

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