Photo Gallery Berlin's Drone Problem
Earlier this month, German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziére cancelled the country's half-billion euro sureveillance drone program. Both he and the military had known about the massive problems facing the program for years.
De Maiziére has had a long and successful political career. He was a state secretary in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and a minister in Saxony, he served under Chancellor Angela Merkel as interior minister and as chief of staff. This, though, is the first time his name has ever been associated with scandal.
No other German defense minister had advocated the purchase of drones as vehemently as de Maizière has done. For him, they are not just a piece of military equipment that protects German soldiers from being injured or killed. They also serve as proof that Germany is not shirking its global duties.
