‘Troops don’t solve conflicts’: German opposition slams government report on $25billion army deployments

‘Germany spent roughly €21 billion ($25 billion) for 52 overseas deployments in the past decades, losing 108 soldiers, the defense ministry said, amid calls from top German officials to not engage in an arms race pushed by US President Donald Trump.
Responding to a request for information from Germany’s Left Party (Die Linke), the defense ministry said around 410,000 troops have deployed overseas in 52 international missions since 1991, according to DPA news agency, which obtained the papers.
The missions cost €21 billion in taxpayer money altogether – more than previously thought, the Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) reports.
Along with the enormous price tag, the incalculable human cost includes 108 troops losing their lives, with 37 of them killed in action, according to Spiegel and FAZ.
“The [German military’s] foreign missions not only cost a fortune – many soldiers have paid for it with their lives. This is particularly painful because normally no armed conflict [is] resolved through military deployment,” Sabine Zimmermann, deputy chairman of the Left Party faction, stated.’
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