Photo Gallery German Special Forces
A review of the political complexities behind a recent aborted anti-pirate operation off the coast of Africa has revealed that German security agencies tend to fight each other sooner than the enemy. Politicians in Berlin are trying to draw lessons from the failed mission.
Members of the GSG-9, an elite unit of the German federal police, had to abort a mission on May 1 to save hostages aboard a cargo ship held by pirates.
Foto: DPA
The Special Forces Command, or KSK, is a separate elite force, under command of the German military.
The two units -- and their commanders -- conflict in sometimes awkward ways.
Foto: Getty Images
As a police force, the GSG-9 has no long-distance equipment of its own, so it sometimes has to rely on the military to reach remote crisis areas.
Foto: DPA
The military's KSK is largely tied up with the NATO mission against Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
Foto: REUTERS
The units' missions overlap, but they have separate command structures.
Foto: DER SPIEGEL
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