Schr÷der is ready to send German troops into the war zone

The German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schr÷der, has signalled Germany's readiness to send up to 3,900 soldiers to Afghanistan, pending parliamentary approval.

Responding to a request from the US for military assistance, Mr Schr÷der emphasised that any German troops sent would not be involved in ground or air combat but in the medical, air transport and naval fields.

"The government is confident that this package will effectively support the fight against terrorism and meets our alliance commitments," Mr Schr÷der said yesterday.

The cabinet will analyse the proposal today and an order mobilising troops could be put to a parliamentary vote, as required by German law, as early as next week.

The announcement, described as a "historical decision" by the Chancellor, is likely to increase the strain with his Green Party coalition partners, who have called for "critical solidarity" rather than the "unlimited solidarity" that Mr Schr÷der has promised the US.

According to the plan, to be implemented in stages, some 800 soldiers would man German-made "Fox" tanks - these are used to detect contamination from chemical and biological weapons - while 1,800 marines would monitor sea traffic in the area. Other soldiers would be deployed to evacuate wounded from the war zone and to transport supplies.

The duration of German participation would be limited to one year, though Mr Schr÷der said it was unclear how long the overall campaign against terrorism would last.

He said the move demonstrated the "solidarity that I have expressed again and again" since the September 11th attacks, but stressed that military action was "only a part of the measures against international terrorism".

Several leading Green politicians, with the notable exception of the Foreign Minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, have criticised the nature of the war and have called for a ceasefire to get aid to Afghans before the onset of winter.

A majority of rank-and-file party members are against the war and oppose any German involvement, but the issue has divided party leaders. At an emergency meeting last night, they debated what one Green politician called "our most difficult decision ever".

However, Ms Angelika Beer, the party defence spokesperson and a supporter of the war, said it was likely that party leaders would support the decision.

The Green Party, with its origins in the pacifist movement, faces a difficult decision. It is likely to lose core support at next year's federal elections if it seems to unconditionally support military action.

The opposition parties pledged their support for the action after a briefing with the Chancellor.

With the support of the conservatives, any vote on military action could be carried in parliament even without the Greens.

Even so, the need to win parliamentary approval before deploying troops could present the government with a constitutional balancing act: the duty to inform deputies about the military operation they are voting on against the need to keep secret the exact details of the deployment.