State authority has to safeguard the dignity of man, basic rights, democracy and the rule of law. The security of its citizens, the protection of the country and its free and democratic basic order are the primary obligation justifying and limiting the existence of the state and its means. Defence capability is an expression of a nation's will to assert itself and of state sovereignty. As a basic responsibility of the state, the core of this protective function must not be affected by changes in the security situation. It is thus only logical and imperative that Germany should also remain militarily forearmed against the imponderables of the future.
German policy is committed to peace.
Its foremost task is to safeguard, promote and shape peace, both within Germany and in the international community. Peace prevails when freedom and justice are realized and the dignity of man is protected. These supreme values are the universally binding core of human rights, which every state, regardless of different religious persuasions and cultural traditions, has to respect and protect. The obligation to protect the dignity of man, to ensure peace, freedom and justice is a yardstick against which the legitimacy of politics can be measured. These values are indivisible.