Soldiers of the 33rd Panzergrenadier bataillon stand ready for inspection in front of a Puma infantry fighting vehicle after taking part in a drill at the headquarters of the 33rd Panzergrenadier bataillon in Neustadt am Ruebenberge on June 29, 2016. Photo by AFP
Chris Bowlby, BBC: Germany: Reluctant military giant?
Should Germany become a major military power? And will it happen?
With Vladimir Putin destabilising the east, Middle Eastern and Asian conflicts spurring new migration into Europe, and Donald Trump questioning US commitment to NATO, Germany has good reason to feel insecure.
Chancellor Merkel told Germans in May that "we must fight for our future ourselves as Europeans". German troops have been deployed in locations ranging from Lithuania to Afghanistan and Mali. And Merkel has promised to raise German defence spending.
But Germany and its Chancellor face a fundamental problem. Most Germans are very reluctant to go down this road.
They regard their own army with suspicion - an attitude reinforced by a recent scandal involving the Bundeswehr. Foreign deployments are tightly restricted by German law and parliament.
Above all, attitudes are shaped by the shadow of history.
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WNU Editor: Fortunately .... the German public does not have any appetite for this type of military expansion. Can this change .... yes .... but the geopolitical conditions will have to get far worse than what they are now for this to happen.
