Editing Ramstein Air Base (section)

=== Illegal arms and munition transports ===
In 2015, the Serbian newspaper {{lang|sr|[[Večernje novosti]]}} reported about Ramstein Air Base being used by the United States Armed Forces to transport arms and munitions to [[Syria]].{{refn|name=":0"|{{Cite news |last=Weißenborn |first=Michael |date=2017-09-13 |title="Sag nichts, frag nicht" |language=de-DE |trans-title="Don't ask, don't tell" |work=[[Stuttgarter Nachrichten]] |url=https://www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/inhalt.us-waffenlieferungen-ueber-ramstein-sag-nichts-frag-nicht.c0c31562-b599-46f3-b809-200defc6077c.html |url-status=live |access-date=2018-01-03 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180619172016/https://www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/inhalt.us-waffenlieferungen-ueber-ramstein-sag-nichts-frag-nicht.c0c31562-b599-46f3-b809-200defc6077c.html |archive-date=2018-06-19}}}} At the end of 2017, an anonymous U.S. official stated that the U.S. does, indeed, use Ramstein Air Base to supplement Syrian rebels with arms and munition.{{r|:0}} The [[Cabinet of Germany|German Federal Government]] stated that it did not grant the necessary permits for these transports, nor that it had been informed about them.{{refn|name=":1"|{{Cite news |last1=Obermaier |first1=Frederik |last2=Krüger |first2=Paul-Anton |date=2017-09-12 |title=Heikle Fracht aus Ramstein |language=de-DE |trans-title=Tricky Freight from Ramstein |work=[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]] |url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/us-waffenlieferungen-heikle-fracht-aus-ramstein-1.3663289 |url-status=live |access-date=2018-01-03 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170913193045/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/us-waffenlieferungen-heikle-fracht-aus-ramstein-1.3663289 |archive-date=2017-09-13 |issn=0174-4917}}}} The Kaiserslautern [[Public prosecutor's office (Germany)|public prosecutor's office]] did not initiate any official investigations. She checked generally accessible sources, on which some of the press articles mentioned were based, and obtained information from the authorities involved in monitoring foreign trade. According to the review, there was "no evidence of concrete arms transports to Syria via Ramstein". However, the journalistic conclusion cannot be ruled out, according to the prosecution authority.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Waffenlieferung: Keine Ermittlungen gegen US-Regierung - Rheinland-Pfalz |url=https://www.rheinpfalz.de/politik/rheinland-pfalz_artikel,-waffenlieferung-keine-ermittlungen-gegen-us-regierung-_arid,1094079.html |access-date=2023-01-02 |website=www.rheinpfalz.de |date=8 February 2018 |language=de}}</ref> Previous investigations of the Ramstein Air Base, such as the [[Abu Omar case]], have proven to be unsuccessful.{{refn|name=":2"|{{Cite news |last1=Obermaier |first1=Frederik |last2=Krüger |first2=Paul-Anton |date=2017-09-20 |title=Millionen Schuss Munition für Kalaschnikows |language=de-DE |trans-title=Million rounds of ammunition for Kalashnikovs |work=[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]] |url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/us-waffenlieferungen-millionen-schuss-munition-fuer-kalaschnikows-1.3673430 |url-status=live |access-date=2018-01-03 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220521211727/https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/us-waffenlieferungen-millionen-schuss-munition-fuer-kalaschnikows-1.3673430 |archive-date=2022-05-21 |issn=0174-4917}}}} If the investigations into the arms and ammunition transports had been successful, this would have constituted a violation of the German ''[[Kriegswaffenkontrollgesetz]]'' and the Foreign Trade and Payments Act.{{refn|{{Cite web |date=2014-03-28 |title=War Weapons Control Act (Kriegswaffenkontrollgesetz, KrWaffKontrG) |url=https://germanlawarchive.iuscomp.org/?p=741 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220521212225/https://germanlawarchive.iuscomp.org/?p=741 |archive-date=2022-05-21 |access-date=2022-05-21 |website=German Law Archive |language=en-US}}}}{{refn|{{Cite news |date=2017-09-13 |title=USA sollen syrische Rebellen über Ramstein mit Waffen versorgt haben |language=de-DE |trans-title=The US is said to have supplied weapons to Syrian rebels via Ramstein |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |url=http://www.dw.com/de/usa-sollen-syrische-rebellen-%C3%BCber-ramstein-mit-waffen-versorgt-haben/a-40492184 |url-status=live |access-date=2018-01-03 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220521212521/https://www.dw.com/de/usa-sollen-syrische-rebellen-%C3%BCber-ramstein-mit-waffen-versorgt-haben/a-40492184 |archive-date=2022-05-21}}}}