Detected extremists are internally assigned to the red category

The UAE, like Saudi Arabia, are affected by the arms export ban that the Union and SPD stipulated in their coalition agreement a year ago. Thereafter, no new arms deliveries to the countries « directly » involved in the Yemen war will be approved. However, a back door has been kept open for already approved stores through which deliveries can continue.

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However, the Federal Government is urging that the goods produced with German participation not be used in the Yemen war. There is obviously little understanding for this in the Emirates. « Our neighborhood is very rough, » said Al-Ahmed of the dpa. « You buy military equipment for a specific purpose. You don’t want to use it, but sometimes you have to use it. »

The diplomat pointed out that some of the contracts currently under discussion are more than a decade old. « If there are conditions that the federal government would like to include in a treaty because of a new political situation here in Germany, then that’s Germany’s business, » said Al-Ahmed. « But that should only apply to new contracts. »

Al-Ahmed did not say to what extent weapons or other German-made armaments had been used in the war. « As an ambassador, I have no knowledge of the military operations and the equipment used. »

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and several other countries in the region have been supporting the Yemeni government troops in their fight against the Houthi rebels for four years. According to the UN, the war has led to the largest humanitarian catastrophe in the world.

The left and the Greens rejected the ambassador’s call for compliance with the treaty and called for a complete stop of arms deliveries to the Emirates. « Demanding compliance with the treaty while breaking international law with German weapons is pure mockery, » said the deputy chairman of the left-wing parliamentary group, Sevim Dagdelen. The Green armaments expert Katja Keul made a similar statement: « The UAE must also know that they are not allowed to participate in violations of international humanitarian law – with or without German weapons. »

Al-Ahmed emphasized that his country, like Germany, was interested in a political solution to the Yemen conflict. « There is no military solution. » But if someone criticizes the coalition against the Houthi rebels, he has to put up with the question of what he himself has contributed to a solution. « I would say: Germany can do more, » emphasized the diplomat. « As an ambassador to Germany, I really believe that Germany can play a much bigger role not only in the Yemen crisis, but also in all other issues in the region. »

Among other things, the German government organized a conference on the Yemen crisis in Berlin and two weeks ago decided to participate in the UN observation mission UNMHA with up to ten soldiers and police officers. A total of up to 75 UN observers are to monitor a ceasefire in the strategically important port city of Hudaida and coordinate the withdrawal of the conflicting parties.

Al-Ahmed has been ambassador to Germany for three years. Along with Saudi Arabia, the UAE are Germany’s most important economic partner in the Middle East and North Africa. 900 German companies are active in the oil-rich country on the Gulf.

There has also been a strategic partnership between the two countries since 2005, which the UAE has never fully implemented. « It was a great opportunity. But if you ask me whether the partnership has been fully activated at a strategic level, I have to say: not to the extent that we imagine it will, » said al-Ahmed.

Berlin (dpa) – The Ministry of Defense has lifted the payment stop imposed after a cost explosion and allegations of infidelity for the renovation of the sailing training ship « Gorch Fock ».https://123helpme.me/community-service-essay/

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This applies to services already checked in the work of Elsflether Werft AG, said a spokesman for the Defense Ministry in Berlin. The creditors’ committee, which was formed after the shipyard filed for bankruptcy, agreed to the next steps. In the meantime, the ministry submitted several classified internal investigations to defense politicians, listing significant errors and structural weaknesses in contracts with Bundeswehr advisers and in the rehabilitation of the « Gorch Fock ».

During the renovation there was a cost explosion from 10 to 135 million euros, of which almost 70 million euros had been paid so far. In an agreement reached with the shipyard in mid-March (« declaration of commitment ») it is planned that the ship should be buoyant for a further 11 million euros by the summer. For the second step, from undocking to seaworthiness, additional costs of a maximum of 48 million euros may arise. Several investigations are now pending on allegations of breach of trust and corruption. The old management of the shipyard was replaced.

The ministry submitted a report on the renovation of the « Gorch Fock » to members of the parliament, which the « Süddeutsche Zeitung » reported and which was available to the dpa. This shows early doubts about the efficiency of the commissioned shipyard. « The contractor is already overwhelmed with the dimension », it said in January 2018 in an internal paper, in which the termination of the work and the fastest possible search for a successor solution were recommended. The report documents extensive file traffic in the ministry. Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) was obviously not informed of early doubts, reported the « Süddeutsche Zeitung ».

« The minister decided on the basis of souped-up figures, » criticized Alexander Müller, FDP chairman in the defense committee. She had to « clean up her house in order to finally regain control of the BMVg ». It is positive that significantly more details have now been made known.

It is now finally clear that the maintenance of the « Gorch Fock » is a real scandal, said Green Defense politician Tobias Lindner. « Through the interventions of the department heads, the maintenance of the » Gorch Fock « was pushed through, contrary to clear warnings from the specialist level and by circumventing the federal budget and the ministry’s own rules of procedure, » he criticized. Cases increased among von der Leyen in which there had been blatant violations of due diligence and award specifications.

The Ministry of Defense also encountered significant errors when examining 468 contracts with advisers to the Bundeswehr. According to the result of a working group of the ministry, the documentation of the examination as to whether external experts are even necessary is not sufficiently verifiable in almost 40 percent of cases. In two thirds of the cases, economic efficiency tests are not adequately documented. After the Federal Audit Office criticized the consultancy, the ministry commissioned a « Task Force External Third Parties » with the investigation.

From the lack of documentation, it could not be concluded that there was no need for consultants or that their use was uneconomical, the ministry said. There are now stricter rules for the use of consultants. Control over repairs to ships is also to be tightened.

The use of external experts in tasks such as IT projects is the subject of a committee of inquiry. Consultants under Ursula von der Leyen cost a three-digit million amount. The Greens, the Left and the FDP are calling for clarification on who exercised control over the awarding of consultancy contracts, whether taxpayers have suffered damage and how rule violations can be prevented in the future. It is also about so-called characteristic ratios, i.e. a suspicion of nepotism.

Cologne / Berlin (dpa) – The Military Counter-Intelligence Service (MAD) wants to report even less serious cases directly to the personnel office when checking suspicious Bundeswehr members.

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This affects soldiers and civilian workers, for whom there is « reasonable knowledge » about a lack of constitutional loyalty, said the President of the Bundeswehr Intelligence Service, Christof Gramm, the German press agency. The MAD assigns around 50 people a year to this category – internally referred to as orange according to a new traffic light system. These cases had previously been reported to superiors for disciplinary action.

Last year, four right-wing extremists and three Islamists were classified as extremists – who work actively and sometimes violently against the constitutional values. Detected extremists are internally assigned to the red category. With them, dismissals from the service almost always stand up to judicial review.

« Discharging from the Bundeswehr is easier to say than it is done. There are also legal bases there, » said Gramm. « Dark orange and red have to get out of the Bundeswehr. The question is which way. » In future, the MAD will also collect feedback on the reported cases in order to provide the Ministry of Defense with central information. « There is no place for extremism in the Bundeswehr or its approximately 250,000 members. That is why we look very carefully if there is any suspicion, » said a spokesman for the Defense Ministry.

The MAD is the smallest German secret service. Its tasks include defending against espionage and sabotage in the Bundeswehr and checking soldiers and officials for extremist attitudes and activities. The MAD reports to the responsible authorities and is not responsible for layoffs itself.

Berlin (AP) – The commander of the Special Forces Command (KSK), Markus Kreitmayr, has sharply condemned right-wing extremist incidents in the elite army unit and announced further consequences.

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« I do not mean to exaggerate by stating that our association is currently experiencing the most difficult phase in its history, » said a letter from the Brigadier General to soldiers that was available to the German Press Agency. Kreitmayr also reacted to the discovery of a weapon hiding place with ammunition and plastic explosives at a commando soldier in Saxony, which he described as « a shocking climax ». Extremists would be removed, but should also leave the unit and the Bundeswehr of their own accord.

After the weapons hiding place was found on May 13, an arrest warrant was issued against the KSK soldier. The 45-year-old is under urgent suspicion of violating the War Weapons Control Act, the Weapons Act and the Explosives Act, as the Dresden Public Prosecutor announced on Thursday. The judge ordered custody because there was a risk of escape and blackout. The raid on his private property in the north Saxon village of Collm came after a tip from the Military Counter-Intelligence Service (MAD), which had been watching the Sergeant Major since 2017.

From this point on, a number of incidents in the KSK became known: In addition to a questionable throwing of pig heads, right-wing rock is said to have been played and anti-constitutional symbols were shown. It is known around the world that the willingness to undertake mostly secret and often dangerous commando operations attracts a certain type of men. However, extremism is not inevitable, in the case of the Bundeswehr it is out of the question.

The Ministry of Defense has since initiated additional measures and restructured the MAD to look to the right and provided it with additional « instruments ». A coordination office for suspected extremism cases has also been set up in the legal department of the Ministry of Defense. Objective: to identify possible anti-constitutional tendencies among KSK candidates and existing staff at an early stage, but also to follow up on the consequences of identified cases. Because there is a noticeable cluster at the KSK: The MAD currently treats around 20 cases.

From the Ministry of Defense it is said that the KSK has so far given four dismissals in this regard. There is a legally binding penalty order with transfer from the KSK. In addition, two judicial disciplinary proceedings were initiated, which were also followed by transfers from the association. A judicial disciplinary procedure has been initiated with a ban, another is imminent. In addition, a soldier is in custody – the most recent case with the weapons stash. A suspicion could not be confirmed in a total of six cases.

But the case in Saxony sparked considerable resentment, even among the military leadership. « In the midst of our community were and still are obviously individuals who can be assigned to the so-called right-wing spectrum, » said the KSK commander in the letter sent on May 18, which is also available to politicians in the Bundestag. « Whether through their lack of constitutional loyalty, their closeness to the movement of the Reichsbürger or their right-wing extremist attitudes and support for right-wing extremist ideologies, they have all caused massive damage to the reputation of the Special Forces Command and the Bundeswehr as a whole, but also to each and every one of us personally . «