German parliament and people oppose US missile deployment
Some members of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the Bundestag oppose plans to deploy US missile systems in the country. According to the lawmakers, this will not strengthen Germany's security but will exacerbate the conflict between Russia and the West.
According to RT on August 2, Politico newspaper reported that some members of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), part of the ruling coalition, opposed the decision of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD member) to deploy US missiles on German territory.
“Not every weapon immediately gives Germany more security,” SPD leader in the Bundestag Rolf Mützenich said of the German Chancellor’s decision.
Mützenich has previously said that the deployment of US missiles would exacerbate the conflict between the West and Russia, and it is unclear whether Berlin will be able to decide for itself how to use these weapons.
Politico noted that the deployment of US offensive weapons would not require approval from the German parliament because the process would not be controlled by the German military and would not involve government spending.
However, SPD lawmakers warned other lawmakers that they would start discussing the deployment of US missiles in September.
“The discussion around the announcement of the deployment of long-range weapons in Germany concerns us all,” Politico quoted the memo from a group of lawmakers.
Amira Mohamed Ali, a member of parliament and co-chair of the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance party, has criticized the decision to deploy US missiles on German soil without discussing it with parliament, saying such a move would increase the risk of war for Germany.
“Of course, Chancellor Scholz should not have made such a far-reaching decision without parliamentary approval. It is an exceptional measure that only increases the risk of war for Germany... This is a very dangerous path that the German government must abandon,” TASS quoted Ms. Mohamed Ali.
Meanwhile, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius rejected criticism of the government's actions and said it was not a subject that needed to be discussed in parliament.
According to a poll conducted by N-TV (Germany) in eastern Germany, 3 out of 4 people oppose the deployment of Tomahawk missiles in Germany. According to N-TV, 75% of people in East Germany oppose it, while in West Germany it is 45%.
Analysts say the geopolitical situation in Europe is being exacerbated by the United States, and this will happen regardless of who is elected president. Deploying missiles in Europe is the dream of Washington hawks and lobbyists for the US military-industrial complex. Moreover, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government is considered loyal to the United States and NATO, so it is likely to ignore objections from Congress.
