Germany Votes Yes on Anti-ISIS Military Mission

German lawmakers voted Friday to send troops, reconnaissance planes, a frigate and midair refueling capacity to the Middle East to support the growing international coalition fighting against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.

The 1,200 German troops set to deploy, however, will not engage in direct combat such as air strikes.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “grand coalition” of the center-right and center-left allowed the motion to pass through parliament easily, with 445 in favor, 146 against and seven abstentions.

Government officials said the move was an essential reaction to the turmoil in the Middle East that is increasingly having effects at home, including the arrival in Europe in recent months of hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the region’s violence, the New York Times reports.

The head of the Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Norbert Rottgen, said: “The Paris attacks have forced us in Europe to realize the Middle East is not somewhere distant like South America.”

“It is our neighbor, and we Europeans must take responsibility for this region,” he added.

Assad Must Go in Order to Defeat ISIS, Says Kerry

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that if an agreement could be reached to remove Bashar al-Assad from power, he believes a coalition of U.S., Syrian and Russian forces could destroy ISIS “in a matter of literally months.”

Kerry made his estimate in Belgrade, Serbia, on Thursday during an address to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the New York Times reports.

“Without the ability to find some ground forces that are prepared to take on Daesh,” he added, using a popular Arabic acronym for the group, “this will not be won completely from the air, and we know that.”

Although the Secretary did not make a specific comment on where the ground troops would come from, his aids send they would have to be local fighters.

But while U.S. officials are keen on seeing Assad step down, too quick a transition could lead to a power vacuum in Damascus that would most likely be exploited by the Islamic State.

“Just imagine how quickly this scourge could be eliminated – in a matter of literally months – if we were able to secure that kind of political resolution,” Kerry said.

Russia Creates New Air Base in Central Syria

Russia has assumed command of a military airport in central Syria, and will use it as a new air base for its fighter jets as troops loyal to Assad move closer to Palmyra.

“The preparation phase for the Shaayrat base is nearing its end. It is being prepared to become a Russian military base,” an anonymous military source told AFP on Thursday.

The Shaayrat base is just north of several towns in which government forces and allied militias are fighting against ISIS.

Since Russia militarily intervened in Syria in late September, its warplanes have been operating out of the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia.

Head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdulrahman said Moscow was “building new runways at the Shaayrat airport and reinforcing its surroundings in order to use it soon for operations” in the province of Homs.

“Syrian regime forces are about three kilometers (less than two miles) from Palmyra and are advancing from the south and west with air cover by Russian helicopters,” he said.

Recommended Reads:

• The Washington Post: Islamic State Money-Making Streams Take a Hit as It Loses Territory
• The Independent: If Assad Is Not Forced out, ISIS Never Will Be
• The Associated Press: U.S.-Backed Alliance Faces Challenges as It Becomes a Force Against Islamic State Militants
• The Guardian: Bombing Syria May Please Allies, But Will Have Little Effect on ISIS
• CounterPunch: How Russia is Smashing the Turkish Game in Syria

Top image: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen speaks at a press conference in Berlin, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015. The German government plans to send up to six Tornado reconnaissance planes, tanker aircraft and a frigate to help protect the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean. It is also planning to commit up to 1,200 soldiers to support the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)