Germany plans to beef up special forces

The News International ^ | August 25 2003

[knighthawk]

BERLIN: Germany plans to beef up its special forces units (KSK) to strengthen its role in the international "war on terrorism" and its ability to free citizens taken hostage abroad, Defence Minister Peter Struck said in a Sunday newspaper interview.

"We plan to boost the number of men serving in the KSK to 1,000 from 450," Struck told the Welt am Sonntag.

"We don’t need any Rambos but rather responsible soldiers for difficult tasks, such as liberating German citizens," Struck said, referring to the renegade US soldier in the American action film series.

Struck said that the KSK had conducted operations in Algeria since Easter (April 20) and later in neighbouring Mali amid a hostage crisis in which 32 European tourists were taken hostage over a period of several weeks in the Sahara desert by Islamic extremists.

The last 14 hostages from Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands were released this week after more than five months in captivity amid rampant reports that a multi-million-euro ransom was paid for their freedom.

The German government has refused any comment on the conditions of their release.

Struck noted the enormous costs of deploying German troops to Algeria and Mali during the crisis and warned the former hostages against selling their stories for profit.

"In consideration for taxpayers, I think that one can expect people not to draw a profit from being taken hostage but rather should hand over fees for photos and stories to the state," he said.

News weekly Der Spiegel reported in an advance copy of its Monday (today’s) edition that Germany was preparing to issue international arrest warrants for the tourists’ kidnappers.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[facedown]

"In consideration for taxpayers, I think that one can expect people not to draw a profit from being taken hostage but rather should hand over fees for photos and stories to the state," he said.

How twisted can one get.

[2timothy3.16]

The last 14 hostages from Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands were released this week after more than five months in captivity amid rampant reports that a multi-million-euro ransom was paid for their freedom.

Hey the krouts have learned real well from their new and best allies, the frogs. The french code of war: Don't fight, bribe em and if you can't bribe em, surrender.