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| | Central Europe Review - German News Review (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-20) |
 | | Defence Minister Rudolf Scharping is trying to secure a leading role in the restructuring of the German army, the Bundeswehr, after the Weizsäcker Committee came forward Tuesday with a drastic proposal to cut army strength from 320,000 to 240,000, at the same time reducing the share of Wehrpflichtige (conscripted recruits) from 130,000 to 30,000. |
 | | Scharping, whose personal views are known to run quite contrary to the committee's proposals, nevertheless stated publicly on Tuesday that he endorsed the "core" elements of the report. |
 | | No reasons for this move have been officially revealed, but it was obviously a sacrifice made by the Minister and represents another blow to army professionals who for years have had to fight the political class' neglect and disregard of the armed forces. |
| www.ce-review.org /00/21/germanynews21.html (1544 words) |
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