BERLIN – German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday again ruled out sending troops to Iraq prior to the arrival of Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawr for high level talks in Berlin.
“What I have said remains valid: we are not sending troops there,” said Schroeder in a speech to parliament greeted with strong applause from government benches.
Germany strongly opposed the Iraq war and Schroeder vowed his government would continue to say “no” to international initiatives which it did not believe in.
Schroeder noted that Germany was playing a role in Iraq with aid and with an Iraqi police training programme operating in the United Arab Emirates.
During the last election in 2002. the Chancellor’s opposition to the war in Iraq helped to galvanise support his Social Democrat-led government and to mobilise the SPD’s supporters.
Opinion polls show that Germans continue to back the stance taken by Schroeder.
President al-Yawar arrives in Berlin later Wednesday and Schroeder is due to have talks with the Iraqi leader Thursday followed by a joint news briefing.
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told the chamber looking at the current security problems in Iraq it was clear that Berlin’s decision on the Iraq war had been correct.
“Wasn’t the position of the German government right?” said Fischer in a rhetorical question.
Sounds like no to me. Reference my post August 9. Too bad the article is gone from the LA Times. But you get the drift.
