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 In response to an appeal from France after the Nov. 13 attacks in
Paris which killed 130 people, Merkel's government agreed to send
Tornado reconnaissance jets, refueling aircraft, a frigate to
protect a French aircraft carrier, and up to 1,200 soldiers to the
region.
Germany will not join France, the United States and Russia in
conducting air strikes in Syria, but the move is significant given
the country's post-war history of avoiding foreign military
entanglements and voter misgivings about getting involved in the
conflict in the Middle East.
A letter from the foreign and defense ministries said the deployment
was aimed at preventing "terrorist acts" by IS and supporting France
and other partners in their fight against the Islamic extremist
group, which has taken large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.
Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen sought to reassure voters,
saying that Germany had not been drawn into war against its will but
taken a conscious decision to get involved.
 She also made clear that there would be no cooperation between
German forces and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or his troops.
"The top line is: there will be no cooperation with Assad and no
cooperation with troops under his command," she said, though she did
not rule out including supporters of Assad in a long-term solution
for the country.
"We must avoid the collapse of the state of Syria," she said, noting
that mistakes made in Iraq, when groups who had been loyal to
dictator Saddam Hussein were prevented from being part of the
political system after his defeat, should not be repeated. The
Bundestag lower house of parliament will debate the issue on
Wednesday and a vote is expected later in the week. The motion looks
set to pass given the broad majority held by Merkel's "grand
coalition" of conservatives and Social Democrats.
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Lawmakers from the pacifist Left party have warned that the
government is raising the risks of an attack on German soil by
joining the mission. They have promised to vote against it and
challenge the deployment in court. Some members of the opposition
Greens also have reservations.
"This deployment is combustible and politically and militarily
wrong. Showing solidarity with France cannot mean undertaking
something that's wrong," said Greens lawmaker Hans-Christian
Stroebele, adding he feared more civilian victims.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a Social Democrat,
told Bild daily that patience was needed and, pointing to the
ongoing talks in Vienna, stressed that a political process for
Syria's long-term future was essential.
"Bombs and rockets alone will not conquer terror, that will only
happen though politics," he told Bild.
(Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke; Reporting by Madeline
Chambers; Editing by Noah Barkin)
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