Germany debates US plans for a missile defence shield

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin openly criticised the US's plans for a missile defence shield at the Munich Conference on Security, the project has become the subject of intense debate in Germany. While Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has called for the defence system to be integrated into NATO structures, the Deputy Chancellor and leader of the SPD Kurt Beck warns of a new arms race. Stefan Kornelius sums up the debate in Germany as follows: "It's about whether we want Russia as friend or foe, because Moscow has given the impression that the decision will have to be made very soon. It's about armament or disarmament because the SPD is conveying the impression that we need to prevent a new Cold War now. It's about the next division of Europe (after the war in Iraq) because neighbouring states want to satisfy their desire for security without consulting others. And as always in Germany, it's about all or nothing, war or peace, but at the very least about the predetermined breaking point of the coalition, because the war in Iraq has shown how easy it is to get the country all fired up about complicated matters of security policy."

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