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Carsten Breuer, Inspector General of the Bundeswehr: “We don’t have endless time”
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Kay Nietfeld/dpa
In "five to eight years" it could be possible that Russia attacks a NATO country - that's what Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) recently said. In view of this threat, the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Carsten Breuer, believes it is necessary for the Bundeswehr to become “war-ready” within five years. »That doesn't mean there will be war. But it is possible,” he told “Welt am Sonntag.”
Warworthiness is a process that Germany must go through, said Breuer. »But we don't have endless time for it. Because for the first time since the end of the Cold War, a possible war is being presented to us from outside." Given the military threat potential posed by Russia, "that means five to eight years of preparation for us." The inspector general added: "Because I'm a military man, I say: in five years we have to be ready for war."
Breuer went on to say that war capability means “much more” than defensive capability. "In addition to the readiness of personnel and materials, it is also about the necessary change in mentality that we have to undergo." There is a need for a "change of thought, both in society and, above all, in the Bundeswehr."
When Defense Minister Pistorius first spoke about war capability, "it was quite shocking." In the end, it's about "being able to defend myself and thereby making the risk of an attack so high for an opponent that he decides against such an attack," said Breuer. "That's deterrence."
With regard to NATO, the Inspector General admitted that Germany could only make some of the Bundeswehr's promised capabilities available later than planned. It's about "being honest with ourselves at all levels," said Breuer. The Bundeswehr can already provide some things now, but others “only in three or four years.” Breuer did not want to say what skills were involved; that is “classified military information.”
The German armed forces, like NATO as a whole, are in a state of upheaval, said Breuer. "Honesty also includes the sentence: This will rumble a bit again - but in a positive sense." He is in constant contact with the NATO commander in chief in Europe, US General Christopher Cavoli. He said: "Please tell us what you can do now and when you will be able to do everything." Such an approach is better "than just depicting any skill on paper," emphasized Breuer.
Germany wants to keep 35,000 soldiers on very high alert for NATO's new deterrence and defense strategy. This includes a fully equipped and operational army division from 2025 and another division from 2027. According to Pistorius, there will also be up to 200 aircraft and ships as well as military support capabilities.
sol/AFP