AZRAQ, Jordan - German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday said she could not rule out a longer-term deployment of German forces in the Middle East. Von der Leyen made the comment during a visit to a Jordanian air base where some 300 German troops are supporting a refueling plane and four Tornado fighter jets that fly reconnaissance missions as part of US led-coalition operations against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Asked if Germany needed a strategic base in the Middle East, von der Leyen said, 'First we must bring this deployment to a successful end. I don't want to rule the idea out, let me put it this way.'
