So the Right Extremist Nest, German Elite Troops Dissolved

BERLIN – Defense Minister German saying he has ordered partial dissolution elite forces KSK (Special Forces Command). This unit has come under fire due to the existence of right-wing extremists in its ranks.

The German Defense Minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, told a newspaper that part of the force had been freed from the chain of command.

“Some of the KSK have been freed from the chain of command, with a culture of leadership that is poisonous,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper as quoted by BBC, Wednesday (1/7/2020).

Kramp-Karrenbauer in May formed a working group to examine the problem, and the group presented a report on its findings on Tuesday.

“The KSK cannot continue to exist in its current form and must be better integrated into the Bundeswehr (German army),” the report said, seen by AFP news agency.

He said one of the four companies of the army, whose right-wing extremists were very lively, would be disbanded and not be replaced.

“Anyone who turns into a right-wing extremist has no place in the Bundeswehr and must leave it,” he told German radio.

He revealed that KSK operations would be moved to other units as far as possible, and the force would not take part in international exercises and missions until further notice.

Kramp-Karrenbauer said the latest findings – including the loss of 48,000 ammunition and 62kg of explosives – were very “disturbing” and “alarming”.

“An internal investigation will be carried out to find out whether the items were stolen or lost due to careless bookkeeping,” he said.

KSK became the center of attention after in May, police confiscated explosives and weapons at the home of a KSK soldier.

While in January, military intelligence said there were nearly 600 suspected right-wing supporters in the army last year.

They also said the KSK was seen as a special problem, with 20 members of the elite forces suspected of being right-wing extremism.

The KSK was founded in 1996, and has around 1,000 soldiers trained to deal with crisis situations such as freeing hostages abroad, which would not have been possible without the assistance of other countries’ forces.

Military problems with right-wing supporters emerged in 2017.

Inspections were ordered in all military barracks when Nazi era memorabilia was discovered. Many of the German soldiers are suspected of having links with right-wing groups who are seen as sympathizing with Germany’s main opposition party, AfD.

(ber)

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