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German participation in air surveillance flights ahead of the Iraq War was unconstitutional, according to a Constitutional Court ruling. Parliament always has the final say in foreign troop deployments, the court said. The German government erred in getting involved in the lead-up to the Iraq War without parliamentary approval, according to a Wednesday, May 7 decision from Germany's highest court. The German center-left government under then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder should have gotten prior approval from the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, before taking part in a surveillance mission to Turkey in 2003, the court ruled.
The German government erred in getting involved in the lead-up to the Iraq War without parliamentary approval, according to a Wednesday, May 7 decision from Germany's highest court.
The German center-left government under then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder should have gotten prior approval from the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, before taking part in a surveillance mission to Turkey in 2003, the court ruled.
The decision is unlikely to have any legal consequences for Schroeder or other members of his government but will influence the military policy-making of future administrations.
Lack of consequences. This is a problem. Not only in Germany, but also definitely in the United States. Without consequences, there is nothing to prevent the next government to doing the same thing and having it died up in courts for five years.
FDP head Guido Westerwelle hailed the Constitutional Court ruling as "historic," saying that it would keep the German army under parliamentary control and prevent it from being turned into a tool of the government.
As historic the decision may be, without consequences for Schroeder and others who gave the orders, will it really keep the "the German army under parliamentary control"?
One can only hope that a direct court ruling will prevent a future government from trying the same stunt. It takes 5 years to make it through the courts the first time, but an immediate injunction would be easier the 2nd time.
What is interesting to me is that Germany ostensively went in at the request of Turkey. Germany and Turkey are two countries who publicly were opposed to the US invasion. But they ended up playing Gunga Din for the master.
Interesting too is the AWACs mission - the Iraqi airforce had already been decimated. I want to find out that Turkey was using the Germans to keep the US out of Turkish airspace. Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.
Frank Delaney ~ Ireland
