Will Germany Abolish the Draft?

Conscription could soon be scrapped in Germany, as the ruling Social Democrats are reportedly realizing that switching to a professional army as in other NATO countries might be a better option.



The head of the Policy and Advisory Staff of the German Defense Ministry, Franz Borkenhagen surprised members of the Social Democrat parliamentary fraction when he praised purely professional armies in other NATO countries in a paper presented on Wednesday.



"The affected countries ruled that the intervention capabilities of the troops in foreign deployments had significantly improved," German daily Die Welt quoted Borkenhagen as saying. "In general the troops welcomed the abolition of the draft and it even found a wide, positive resonance in society," Borkenhagen added.



Borkenhagen was addressing a special working group on security policies set up by the Social Democrats to examine ways to abolish the draft and the possible consequences of such a move. German Defense Minister Peter Struck is reportedly familiar with Borkenhagen's paper .

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http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1432_A_1191774_1_A,00.html

Thanks, Kellanved. I had no idea that they still had the draft. I hope the Germans will have enough troops to keep their own country secure and keep up their peacekeeping projects.

Kirk out.

With the European Union enlargement Germany has only one border left: with Switzerland. Keeping a huge tank force and one of the largest reserve armies worldwide is sort off pointless under these circumstances.

At the same time the demand for Peacekeeping forces raises. But for several reasons conscripts are not deployed abroad - but two-thirds of the German army are conscripts.

So, as the article says, a professional Army might be a better option. However the social services can't do without the almost free workforce that conscientious objectors provide.

The example of Spain shows that there might not be enough volunteers to get an effective Army.