Defense: Pistorius: Debate about stationing of US weapons important

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has shown himself open to a debate about the planned stationing of long-range US weapons in Germany. The debate is “important so that we as a society, after weighing up all the arguments, can find a position that we can all live with,” the SPD politician told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ).

“We need this public debate to make the seriousness of the situation clear: on the one hand, we are experiencing a new threat situation in Europe due to Russia’s aggressive behavior, and on the other hand, we have a capability gap that we can only close in the short term with the help of our US allies until we have developed these weapons ourselves,” said Pistorius.

On the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington, the US government and the German government announced that from 2026 onwards the USA wants to station medium-range weapons with conventional warheads in Germany again, which can reach as far as Russia. These include Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometres, SM-6 missiles and newly developed hypersonic weapons.

Criticism from within our own ranks

Pistorius was also criticized for this by his own party. SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich warned of the risk of military escalation. SPD Bundestag member Ralf Stegner spoke out against further rearmament. SPD leftists demanded that the party base be involved in the issue.

The defense minister told the “FAZ” that it was his duty to protect people from external dangers. “And I have publicly represented this position several times since the announcement of this plan at the NATO summit in Washington and have received a lot of approval for it. It goes without saying that we also hold discussions behind closed doors within the parliamentary group.” The debate had nothing to do with “fierce opposition within the SPD,” Pistorius emphasized.