NATO AWACS jets to guard German World Cup

[Kellanved]

BERLIN/AMSTERDAM - NATO surveillance jets will likely guard German airspace during the 2006 football World Cup, an Alliance spokesman said Thursday.

The Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes carry early warning systems to provide airborne surveillance and command and control functions to the armed services.

Robert Firman, a spokesman at Germany's NATO AWACS base in Geilenkirchen, said it was "very likely" that jets from the base would be deployed over Germany during the World Cup, which runs June 9 to July 9.

The AWACS flights have been called for by German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

...
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=26592&name=NATO+AWACS+jets+to+guard+German+World+Cup

:banghead: What is that going to accomplish? Do they want the AWACS to enforce the offsides rule?
There is not a single thing these planes could do: the German airspace already is the most tightly controlled in the world.

The real reason seems to be the old conservative wish of being allowed to deploy the army domestically. The German constitution forbids the Army to perform domestic duties, especially police work. The conservatives have the stupid idea that deploying the army for crowd control and security duties would save a lot of money - now they try to get the constitution changed to allow the AWACS (which actually wouldn't be a problem with the constitution as it is, but the media doesn't seem to understand that).