Germany: Never say never on Iraq
From CNN Correspondent Chris Burns
BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Germany's defense minister said Wednesday his country cannot rule out getting involved in Iraq in the long run, though it could take years for that to happen.
The comment is the latest among German officials indicating their country needs to help stabilize the oil-rich nation.
"Someone wanting to permanently rule out a German engagement for Iraq -- there can be no serious discussion about that in Germany," Defense Minister Peter Struck said during a NATO conference in Bucharest, Romania.
"I have explained that it's not an issue in the foreseeable future. But it is possible in the long term, in years perhaps, that Germany would become engaged," he said in a statement released by the Defense Ministry in Berlin.
A ministry source noted that engagement does not necessarily mean troops.
The ministry also confirmed Struck's comment in a Financial Times interview published earlier Wednesday, that while he rules out troops deployment now, "no one can predict developments in Iraq in such a way that he would make such a binding statement."
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's office reaffirmed Wednesday that no troops would be sent to Iraq. But other high-ranking German officials have warned in the past month about the danger of Iraq spinning out of control and that Germany has an interest in stabilizing it.
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told a Berlin conference he didn't think additional European troops were necessary, "otherwise I would be in favor of it."
Last week, August Hanning, head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, told a news conference that violence in Iraq could turn the country into a failed state and a haven for terrorists.
"That is why all of us have a common interest, whether we take part in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq or not," he said. "This country must be stabilized."
