Conservatives Propose Domestic Deployment of Military

The Christian Democratic leaders of several German states, including Bavaria, Hessen, Saxony and Thuringia, have proposed changing the constitution to allow for the domestic deployment of the military. Until now, such a deployment has been constitutionally restricted to cases of national security and natural disaster . According to a report in the Berliner Zeitung, the Christian Democrats propose deploying the military to provide order and security in instances where the police can not handle the job alone, for example in the protection of high-profile civil and military targets. The leaders cite the growing threat of terrorism as the main reason for the change. However, members of the governing coalition of Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens are less than enthusiastic about the idea. "Under no circumstances should internal security be militarized," said the SPD politician Dieter Wiefelspütz. The proposal faces a vote on Friday.