Arno Gottschalk, SPD spokesman for Budget and Finance in the Bremen city parliament (Bürgerschaft), argued that the German government decision to buy and deploy Tomahawk intermediate-range missiles exposed Germany to a Russian threat without the guarantee of a U.S. umbrella.
Writing in the Blog der Republik, Gottschalk noticed that, under the original plan to deploy U.S. missiles in Germany, “the systems would have been U.S. property operated by U.S. personnel; an attack on them would have directly affected U.S. soldiers, and U.S. involvement would not have required a resolution. This material link was an essential part of the deterrent effect. Now the launchers belong to Germany. Article 5 [of the North Atlantic Treaty, i.e., NATO] would, of course, be triggered by an attack, but the direct link no longer exists: An attack on a German battery would initially strike German forces, and concrete U.S. participation in a response would be subject to political mediation. [Russian President] Putin has already announced as early as 2024 that he would respond in kind to a Tomahawk deployment. Germany thus assumes the primary risk while remaining dependent on U.S. cooperation for software, reference data, and resupply.”