GER politics thread

[Jimbuna]

This should help pay for the F-35's

Dresden Green Vault robbery jewels recovered after heist
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64013430

[Skybird]

Der Tagesspiegel:
-------------------------
Major General writes letter to Lambrecht: The Bundeswehr apparently has serious problems with the Puma infantry fighting vehicle again

A letter is said to be causing a stir in the Ministry of Defense. According to a report, it is about the total failure of the "Pumas".

The Bundeswehr has encountered serious technical problems during exercises with the Puma infantry fighting vehicles for NATO's "spearhead". During a training with 18 combat vehicles, the operational readiness dropped to zero within a few days, reports the "Spiegel".

The magazine referred to a letter from the commander of the 10th Armored Division Major General Ruprecht von Butler to the leadership of the Army and the Ministry of Defense.

According to information from the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the maneuver took place at the firing practice center of the tank force and the letter caused a stir in the Ministry of Defense since Friday. That's because the new breakdowns concern vehicles in a special configuration with which the Panzergrenadier Brigade 37, which is subordinate to Buttlar, is to participate in the alliance's VJTV force (Very High Readiness Joint Task Force) starting in the new year.

Spiegel" reports a total failure after reading the letter. The last two "Pumas" that were still operational also failed "on yesterday's firing day after one and a half hours with turret defects," the general wrote according to the report. [Skybird: 18 Pumas went into the exercise, after the second day, all of them were out of action due to internal technical problems].

According to the report, the electronics of the high-tech tanks are particularly susceptible, and in one tank there was even a serious cable fire in the driver's compartment.

The type of defects had already been known to the troops, the mail said, but they had "never occurred with such frequency." At the same time, the systems had only been moved on firing ranges in the northern German lowlands, where they had "not been subjected to excessive stress."

According to the estimate of the harness master of the affected company, which he considers very credible, the general writes, it can be assumed that the company will not be fully operational again for another three to four months.

The Puma infantry fighting vehicle, plagued by numerous technical problems, had only been declared combat-ready last year. Developed and produced by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (RLS), the combat vehicle had previously made headlines as a "breakdown tank."
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Oh my, how much I always have loved this hyped super-dooper-mega tank. Practically every time I have read about it, it was something negative. And that still has not changed. But being the most expensive infantry fighting vehicle in the world. No one wants to buy it. And then the crutch linkage on the gun without which the thing always warped.... But it is pregnant-soldieress-safe and fetusses will not suffer from exhaust gas in the cabin. Maybe they should turn the remaining Pumas into ambulance cars.


As the Spiegel put it: In the Bundeswehr, good news usually lasts as long as a chocolate mousse under the African sun.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

This should help pay for the F-35's

Dresden Green Vault robbery jewels recovered after heist
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64013430

The police did not"find" them. Prosecutors, defense attorneys and the court made a deal (the thieves, members of a large Lebanese criminal clan in Germany that has committed and is committing many other felonies in Germany, including breaking into KaDeWe and stealing the large Elizabeth II gold coin, are in custody). The pieces would have been unsaleable anyway, even broken open.

[Catfish]

Yes, what an achievement!
There were negotiations with attorneys of this criminal clan before, and they made a deal! So the clan agreed to give back part of the steal.
Again, what an achievement!
Those "clans" are vermin. And this kind of reports and court decisions are ridiculous.
Maybe better use their own arabian legislation on them
Unbelievable.

[Skybird]

It has been revealed now why Germany does not deliver Marders to Ukraine.


In Spring, German wannabe-defence minister Lambrecht said that of the 350 Puma the Bundeswehr claims to have, only 150 were operational. It now got reported in the past 48 hours that in fact it were only 40 Pumas being operational. Of these, now 18 have been turned into "non-operational" as described two posts above, leaving the BW with just 22 operational Pumas (of which I assume if they get send into an exercise they soon would turn out to be non-operational as well ) So, in order to "enable" the Germans to fulfill their obligation within the spearhead Very High Readiness Task Force, it has now been decided to not equip them with Pumas but - refurbished Marders that already had been sorted out.



And news from the fleet of 50 Tiger helicopters. The number of oiperaitonal units ha sreac hed a reocrd level of 9, which is 1 more than the last time I read about the Tiger at the beginning of this year.


Well, you give some and you get some. Truly a turning point in German history!

[Jimbuna]

I doubt Germany have the ability to defend their own borders.

[Catfish]

^ this is exactly how i see it.
And more of a liablity than an asset to Nato.
But then the reeducation of Germany after WW2 worked

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

I doubt Germany have the ability to defend their own borders.

Thats more than doubt - thats a certainty.

Many Germans still do not even understand why they should want to defend themselves.

In the transition phase from great defence minister vond und zu Guttenberg to greta defence mninister von der Leyen they breeded a great plan, that was that Germany would command a league of foreign troops from its bordering neighbours, and equip them while not pariticpating in the man poower, and then have these fighting in case of a war that nobody imagiend to ever com e anyway. Of course said neighbouring sttae showed Germany the middle finger. The Germans wondered why this was so, but let the plan silently disappear under the carpet.

On the Puma, I never was a fan of that thing, and I think I criticised it on sevral occaisosn already years ago. The three modular armour. The cannon that did not aim precise. Electronics and optics problems from day one on. The need of four air lifts to transport 3 tanks in configuration C: three planes per tank,a nd a forth one for the component armor - and this for the Germans with their mighty logistics and big big A400M fleet! . Today they say the turret was build to house the HK MG4 with cal 5.56 and that it is so good becasue thats the same small callibre the ifnantry uses for its assault rifles, but I recall very brightly that years ago it was documented that the turret was mis-planned and did not have enough space to house a cal 7.62 (they now want to build a H&K MG5 into it). And then the main cannon now on crooks. Not to mention the hardening against exhaust gas not to to endanger pregnant soldier girls who go into battle highly pregnant.

No, its fair to say I never was a fan of that thing. And then the high price, the heavy weight. No wonder nobody wants to buy it. And they still fight a long list of serious problems - since 16 years.

It got reported today the problems that led to the failing of 18 of 18 tanks in easy exercises that were not even material stress tests, came from a software update.



If true, I can only use Adama's words in Battlestar Galactica. That scene could have been written by me, I agree with every single word he says.




I like computers. But not networked. Not automatically administring themselves. All my devices, from tablet to computer, are not networked in any way, and use not shared cloud or internet accounts. None of them updates automatically. And so forth. Computer - hell, yessir! But only kept on a very short line. As little smart-home as possible. Best is: no smart-things-home at all.

[Skybird]

The purchase of a further tranche of around 250 Pumas has been suspended.

Lambrecht is not responsible for this Puma problem, which goes back to the time long before her remarkable regency in the Ministry of Defense. But it is quite clear that she has neither the competence nor the interest to be part of the solution. She is and remains a total failure. In principle, the position of defense minister in Germany has been vacant for many years.

[Skybird]

Der Tagesspiegel:

----------------------

After a raid on Berlin's major brothel "Artemis", the state of Berlin must pay damages to the two operators. This was decided by the Berlin Court of Appeal on Tuesday in the appeal process and awarded the two plaintiffs 50,000 euros each plus interest. The interest would amount to 10,941 euros if paid immediately.

The background to the case are statements made by the public prosecutor's office at a press conference in April 2016, some of which were inaccurate and prejudicial, the court reasoned. Among other things, the authority had spoken of links to organized crime. However, the accusations had collapsed, and an indictment was not admitted in 2018. The judicial administration could have prevented the verdict - with a donation of 25,000 euros to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).

According to the court, the accusations made by the public prosecutor's office at the press conference, such as the assignment of the "Artemis" operators to organized crime, were not covered by the results of the investigation. The prosecution had fundamentally violated the principle of the presumption of innocence. The comparison with the gangster boss Al Capone was inadmissible. This had created the impression of massive criminal acts.

The Kammergericht justified the amount of compensation by the fact that representatives of the state of Berlin had again and in depth violated the rights of the "Artemis" operators in the trial and had not been prepared to correct the situation. "The state of Berlin missed the chance to admit the obvious and serious mistakes of the public prosecutor's office in the context of a settlement," said Artemis lawyer Ben M. Irle. The refusal to distance itself from serious breaches of official duty is "testimony to a staggering ignorance as well as a lack of displayed self-reflection," Irle said. "Such behavior by the administration of justice, characterized by stubbornness and complacency, is an alarm signal for the rule of law."

The responsible civil chamber had suggested a settlement to the state of Berlin after long negotiations in the appeal proceedings. However, the Senate judicial administration had not responded to this. The background to the dispute is a raid in April 2016 with hundreds of police officers, customs investigators and prosecutors in the brothel. Afterwards, the public prosecutor's office had spoken of links to organized crime, among other things. But the accusations fell apart.

After the Berlin Regional Court refused to admit the prosecution's charges at the end of 2018, the brothel's two operators sued. They are claiming damages of at least 200,000 euros and demand an apology. In recent months, the Superior Court had made it clear that mistakes had been made on the part of the state - and that an apology, including compensation, was in order. The court suggested paying 25,000 euros to Unicef - instead of paying damages to the brothel operators.

The Senate Judicial Administration had already announced in advance: "A decision by the Kammergericht in this matter will be carefully reviewed by the SenJustVA to see whether the relevant appeal will be filed. If prospects of success are seen here, the SenJustVA will of course take action against any judgment of the Kammergericht." Because the Kammergericht did not allow an appeal on the grounds that the case was not of fundamental importance, the hurdles are even higher. The judicial administration would have to file a non-admission appeal. The operators are currently fighting with the district office before the administrative court over a planned second "Laufhaus" of Artemis.
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[Catfish]

Originally Posted by Skybird

[...]
It got reported today the problems that led to the failing of 18 of 18 tanks in easy exercises that were not even material stress tests, came from a software update.

Of course, the internet of things transferred to the military

"Fire!"
"I am sorry the gun's ai just wants to do an internet update and the enemy blocks communication"
"Please wait"
"Please wait"
.
.
.
Plase wai.. "
Boom.

[Jimbuna]

[Skybird]

Suspected Russian spy arrested in German intelligence agency


https://www.dw.com/en/suspected-russ...ncy/a-64190192

[Skybird]

Neue Zürcher Zeitung:
--------------------------

Angela Merkel worries about her place in the history books - and rightly so

The former chancellor is present in many media. She fears that she will come off badly in historical retrospect. Her era was marked by bad decisions that will have long-lasting repercussions.

The image that best describes Angela Merkel's chancellorship is that of the captain in the fog. Merkel needed the unclear situation to be able to do what she did for 16 years: sail by sight. For her, politics was the art of forging compromises, of taming apparatuses, of seizing the day. Alongside that, she was quite concerned about her place in history. Now that she has had to relinquish power, this concern is gaining the upper hand. Merkel fights for her legacy with speeches, appearances and interviews and has to watch it slip away.

She will be remembered more as the middle and late rather than the early head of government. Chapters about the chancellor of the welcome culture, the chancellor of European crises and the chancellor of the pandemic, who saw the corona virus as a "democratic imposition," are likely to be set in the annals. Merkel proclaimed both that borders could not be closed and that "playing on a playground" was to be refrained from out of civic responsibility. On the inside, she wanted to organize social cohesion; on the outside, peace in Europe. Both ambitions have failed, and that is also due to Merkel's difficult legacy.

The CDU politician, whose hypothermic relationship with her own party is a particularly wintry story, now found time to participate in a public service podcast on the topic of "Let's Talk About Murder." Specifically, "Crimes in the 'Ring of the Nibelung'" was the topic. Previously, she had been visited by the magazine "Der Spiegel" and the illustrated magazine "Stern," had given an interview to the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit," and had given speeches in Halle, Goslar and Berlin.

In the podcast, Merkel proves to be a profound connoisseur of Richard Wagner's work, but also someone who always has justifying reasons ready for her own actions. She professes her belief in the vision-free motto "carpe diem" and praises the stoic acceptance of Edmund Stoiber's candidacy for chancellorship, even though she herself would have liked to run in 2002.

She sees politics as an instrument that curbs emotions and creates order: The rule of law depends on the majority of its citizens "accepting that this order that has been created is a good order, and not rebelling, so to speak, when they themselves don't like it. Merkel ultimately wants calm in the box. When she was still in office, she said that the task of politics was "that we should leave as little as possible to talk about."

Nothing could illuminate more sharply the chasm that runs between Merkel's failed ambition and the current state of affairs, which is aroused in so many ways. According to "Der Spiegel," the cheerfully chatty ex-chancellor would have wished for "a more peaceful time after my departure, because I was very busy with Ukraine," but now wants to practice "conscious abstinence" in day-to-day political business.

She confided to Die Zeit that, in retrospect, she would not have preferred to have acted differently at any point. This is reminiscent of the arrogance with which the then chancellor brushed aside criticism of the Bundeswehr's failed Afghanistan mission in the Bundestag. "After the fact," Merkel said in an illusionist volte-face, "knowing everything exactly and predicting it exactly, that's relatively effortless."

Merkel saw her de facto unbounded migration policy, now perpetuated by the "traffic light," as the gauge of whether Germany had learned its historical lesson - and whether she herself would end up on the right side of the history books. In 2015, she also credited her policies with the fact that the world "sees Germany as a country of hope and opportunity, and that really wasn't always the case."

Today, the problems piling up in the municipalities, on the housing market, in the social security system show how wrong Merkel was with this migration romanticism. The Ukraine war, in turn, is the greatest possible misfortune for Merkel's, Steinmeier's and Gabriel's Russia policy, not to mention the staleness of Merkel's constant appeals to the "cohesion of all who live in Germany."

The CDU is also moving away from the foreign and migration policy legacy of its longtime leader. Merkel, foreign policy expert Johann Wadephul wrote in the "Frankfurter Allgemeine," had "underestimated that Putin would actually do things he talked about." The idea of an eternally possible settlement had deceived her, he said.

At the moment, the retired chancellor is writing her memoirs. Helmut Kohl already used this format to put himself in the right light. Until proven otherwise, however, Angela Merkel has been chancellor for longer than was good for Germany. The many wrong decisions made during this era will continue to haunt the Federal Republic for an epoch.

----------------------------


And this is the - at the time of typing this - latest reader comment: "(Martin Thomas): This woman has done such unfathomable damage that it is not clear if it can ever be repaired. Probably not, because the course has been set. Whether this was done out of stupidity, ignorance or on purpose is not clear. In all important decisions (euro, migration, etc.), she has always chosen the solution that was the worst for Germany. "

I stick to what I have said often over the years: beign the mercilessly populistic opportunist that she was, Merkel was the most damaging political event in Germany and Europe since 1933 and the twelve dark years that followed - not as bad as Hitler, that is, but: the worst since Adolf Hitler. As an old joke said: she was the executor of Erich Honecker's later revenge on the FRG. To what extent Scholz, this continuation of Merkel by other means, and his ideology-drunk, economy-destroying criminal squad will surpass her harmfulness remains to be seen. There is no reason to look forward with hope to the dawn of the Green-Red future.

[Skybird]

Diversionary maneuver by the industry - or remarkable turnaround in the Puma scandal? The assessment shifted from "total failure" to "minor damage" and "operating errors". Is the Bundeswehr perhaps just too stupid? The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

-------------------------------------------
Are the Puma tanks not that broken?

The Puma is causing problems, and the defense minister is blaming the industry. But is that justified? For some tanks, a wrench is apparently all that is needed to repair them.

The bad news reaches Christine Lambrecht in Africa. It is Thursday, December 15, and the defense minister is visiting German troops in Mali. She is being shown armored vehicles and drones, talking to soldiers and lighting an Advent candle at a field service.

But then this e-mail: During an exercise in Munster, Lower Saxony, all 18 participating examples of the new Puma infantry fighting vehicle have failed. The message reads that the Bundeswehr is once again left with nothing. And this just before the New Year, when NATO has firmly scheduled the Pumas for its rapid reaction force.

The Puma would like to be the best infantry fighting vehicle in the world. A Porsche compared to its old predecessor, the Marder. The most powerful engine and the most modern technology are installed in it. A computer on tracks, fully digitized. But that is precisely why it is also particularly susceptible to failure. The manufacturing companies have had to make improvements time and again in recent years.

In addition, there were numerous requests for changes and bureaucratic requirements. The result: huge delays and enormous costs. On the other hand, the reading light in the Puma now complies with the German Workplace Lighting Ordinance, and the exit flaps are also suitable for pregnant women.

But even these Pumas are worthless to NATO if they do not meet its standards. So far, however, only about 40 tanks have been certified for the rapid reaction force. That's why more Pumas are now to be modernized. And fast. On Wednesday, December 14, the Budget Committee was supposed to release the necessary money: 850.5 million euros.

The morning before the meeting, however, the Army was already on fire. The news of the broken infantry fighting vehicles had just arrived. Major General Ruprecht von Butler, commander of the 10th Armored Division, called Johann Langenegger, the deputy inspector of the Army, in the morning. A not entirely ordinary occurrence, as some say. Damage to individual vehicles is not in itself a matter for the top Army command. Just as the procurement of paper clips is not a matter for the head of the Chancellor's Office. Moreover, on that morning, i.e. immediately after the last failures, the damage situation was also anything but clear.

On the other hand, there were urgent reasons for reporting the matter to the top. Butler had doubts about the basic suitability of the Puma. And he knew that if this weapon system failed, "Plan B" would have to be activated. Then the Bundeswehr would have to offer NATO the old but reliable "Marder" for its spearhead in the remaining time, and within two weeks. Haste was the order of the day.

So Butler made a report to Langenegger on the phone. Langenegger instructed him to draw up a written report.

Parliament and the minister were apparently not informed at first, and so a few hours later the budget committee approved the 850 million for the modernization. Little did they know what was going on in Munster. "It was a good day for the Bundeswehr," Lambrecht said before boarding the government plane to Africa. The turning point in time will now be "filled with life," she said. She wanted to end her difficult first year as defense minister with a success. And the Puma was to be part of that successful record.

But how could it be that no one informed the minister when the future of the Puma tank was just on the agenda in parliament? Johann Wadephul, a deputy leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, finds it alarming that the Bundestag was not informed. "We expect that it will be disclosed who knew what and when," he tells the F.A.S. "If it is true that the top management of the Bundeswehr was already informed on Wednesday morning, serious questions arise: why was the budget committee not informed by the minister who was present, or why was she not informed? One alternative is worse than the other."

Butlers' advocates counter that: Maybe he wasn't aware of what was on the agenda in the Bundestag at the time. But does that also apply to a man like Langenegger? He is, after all, the deputy inspector of the Army. Yes, says one insider, but he also knew what effect it would have had to startle the committee and the minister with a report that had not yet been verified. So there had been reasons to keep quiet for the time being.

So they kept quiet, and Butlers' report did not reach the ministry until five twenty-five the next morning via an encrypted e-mail. The distribution list was substantial, but the message still took some time to reach the top of the house. The Secretary of State was in Mali and was not informed until the afternoon. The Inspector General of the German Armed Forces, General Eberhard Zorn, was also traveling, so his deputy had to take over, Lieutenant General Markus Laubenthal. The Inspector General of the Army, Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, had not had time to read his mails in the morning and was informed by a staff member in the morning.

Then, for two days, there was tense silence, at least on the outside. The ministry and the army hurriedly tried to get a picture of the real extent of the damage, then to plan the next step. Until Saturday, this went silently. But on the evening of that day, at 8:00 p.m., the explosive device detonated. Der Spiegel" made the matter public. Someone in the circle of insiders had leaked Butlers' letter to the press. Who and why is not clear, but the scandal was there.

At the top of the Bundeswehr, in the ministry and in industry, the word was now: save yourself. Everyone was fighting everyone, the atmosphere was tense to the breaking point, and there was still no complete picture of the real damage situation. Lambrecht tried to keep the reins in his hands. On Monday, the Ministry of Defense informed the chairmen of the relevant committees in the Bundestag - if one can speak of information at all. At any rate, the deputies only got to hear fragments. There was talk of problems with the software, there of a "blockage in the fuel system", and in third place of dirty external cameras. Anyone who didn't have any doubts about the Puma until then was bound to get them now. "We have now spent 850 million euros," Alexander Müller, chairman of the FDP in the defense committee, told the F.A.S. - And for what? Just to get a "permanent construction site"? Suddenly, the entire "Puma" project, the backbone of the armored infantry, was once again in question.

By Monday evening, the minister had found her line. The order of the day was to attack the industry, the manufacturers of the Puma, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall. In the evening on the Heute-Journal, Lambrecht went on the offensive. "Industry has a duty," she said. Until the Puma proves stable, she said, there will be no new orders. "This is a path we will walk together, or just break it off if we have to."

The following day, the counterattack began. Several representatives of the affected companies began to fight back in confidential talks. The first argument from industry was that politicians and the military were making a "big fuss" about trifles. The investigation is still underway, but one thing is already clear: most of the allegedly damaged Pumas had only minor damage: a screen had failed because someone had accidentally kicked it, a fuse had blown, and a screw was loose in a missile mount. On one occasion, it was simply overlooked that the auxiliary heating only works when the switch is set to "on". Only two vehicles had more serious problems: A cable fire in the driver's cab and damage to the heavy gear rim on which the turret rotates - possibly due to an accident, since such a gear rim "doesn't break by itself. Overall, said an industry representative, they are confident they can repair most of the 18 Pumas by Jan. 1 - the day from which they must be available for NATO spearhead operations.

Second, industry officials point out that of the 18 Pumas that allegedly failed, ten were nearing their scheduled maintenance deadlines. Two had even "expired". The Ministry of Defense neither confirmed nor denied this when asked, but sources in the battalion concerned say that the Pumas were passed around between different companies and used intensively. Maintenance may have been neglected by the troops. One armored infantry officer on Twitter calls them "wandering whores" in ready-to-print commissary jargon.

The third argument of the defense industry: they could have helped quickly when the damage occurred, but the army did not ask for help. The Ministry of Defense has confirmed that industry specialists were always around during the exercise. But several sources confirm that they were not allowed near the damaged vehicles. "I ask: Why weren't we consulted?" says one industry representative. "Why did they wait until all 18 armored personnel carriers were down before reporting to the ministry?"

There are benevolent answers and less benevolent answers to this question. The benevolent one: Perhaps the commander had wanted to simulate a situation in which "the shells are really flying" and there is no help. "Just like in Ukraine. The less benevolent interpretation is: The Army did not call in the companies for help because their technicians might then have discovered failures in maintenance and in the supply of spare parts. In that case, the blame for the failures would have rested with the troops. That's just a guess, but leading opposition politicians are demanding that this suspicion be investigated. "You have to rule out the possibility that it was a matter of covering up possible maintenance errors by the troops," says CDU member of parliament Roderich Kiesewetter.

For Armin Papperger, Rheinmetall's CEO, all these arguments lead to one clear conclusion: "This is a storm in a teacup," he tells the F.A.S. He is not the only one who sees it that way. Arms expert Christian Mölling of the German Council on Foreign Relations believes the Puma still suffers from design problems. But in the case of the 18 failed Munster infantry fighting vehicles, he says, it was probably more the "poor handling of the vehicles" that was the deciding factor. "This time, the responsibility does not lie with the industry," Mölling says.

Defense politicians in the Bundestag are now asking why such a dramatic letter was sent out into the world before they themselves had tried to solve the problems. "Actually, the rule should be: Only when the game is won do we leave the field," says Henning Otte, a defense expert for the CDU. Instead, he says, they drove away with their heads bowed. "There was such a lack of commitment that crept in. Where was the service supervision here?" The leadership problem starts with the minister, he said, who first "reflexively" criticized the industry. Now the damage to the image of the German armed forces is immense. "Putin is clapping his hands."

The Greens also have the impression that the Bundeswehr always presents its problems more drastically than they actually are. After all, not everything runs smoothly in other armed forces either, says Green defense politician Agniezska Brugger, "but in Germany, the debate is sometimes very overdramatic." She said one always has to take a close look: "Has some little light gone off, or is the problem with the material endangering the soldiers?"

On Thursday evening, insiders from the industry spread the word that Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall had meanwhile "inspected" the 18 Pumas. The result: eighty percent of the complaints had turned out to be "minor damage" or "no damage at all" - such as the heating switch not being activated. It is hoped that the Pumas will be available to NATO in time for the New Year. The Ministry of Defense had been informed of this.

The ministry would neither confirm nor deny this information. A spokesman asked for understanding that he could not "anticipate" the "ongoing analysis. There was also no contradiction from the Army.
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