German Parliament Member Sahra Wagenknecht Criticizes Country's Role In Syrian War

The chairman of Germany’s The Left party and member of the Bundestag, Sahra Wagenknecht, blamed Western policy in the Middle East for the emergence of the Islamic State terrorist group and singled out the United States for its role in destabilizing Syria.

"There would have been no IS if there was no war in Iraq. The organization [ISIS] would not have been so strong if not for bombardments of Libya and destabilization in Syria. The West, first of all the United States, has made this monster bigger by their wars," Wagenknecht told Germany’s DPA news agency Monday.

Wagenknecht also said Germany’s support of French airstrikes in Syria was no different from the terror attacks in Paris last month. “Of course it is no less of a crime to murder innocent civilians in Syria with bombs than it is to shoot them in Parisian restaurants and concert halls,” she reportedly said.

Earlier in December, Germany approved sending up to 1,200 military personnel to Syria and provided six Tornado reconnaissance jets and a frigate to protect the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

An international coalition headed by the U.S. has stepped up its campaign against ISIS since the terror attacks in Paris last month in which 130 people were killed. Germany — which has traditionally been reluctant to engage in military missions abroad — has maintained that its military will not join the airstrikes being conducted by the U.S.-led coalition and Russia.

German defense minister Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this month that Germany might need bigger armed forces to meet the growing international demands for its troops in training and other non-combat roles.