CDU Wants to Send German Cops Abroad

The defense policy speaker of Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), Christian Schmidt, has recommended that Germany create a force of up to 2,000 police officers who would be permanently ready to be sent to crisis regions. This number is 20 times greater than what the interior ministry had announced this summer for use in United Nations or European Union missions. Schmidt justified the call by saying that although the German army Bundeswehr had been better equipped and trained recently, the soldiers were "only partially qualified" to put a halt to riots and unrest such as those in Kosovo in 2004. The army's military police is best equipped to carry out duties within the Bundeswehr. Schmidt furthermore made reference to an agreement between the 25 EU ministers responsible for such missions that such a force, which could be sent to areas of unrest within a month and would number some 900, would be created. Defense Minister Peter Struck rejected Germany's participation at that time, saying that the responsibilities of army and police were clearly divided.