Afghanistan mission
October 2, 2009
Speculation that the number of Bundeswehr soldiers in the Hindu Kush could soon top 7,000 from the current 4,200 is fueling a fresh debate in Germany on the purpose and strategy of the ISAF and NATO missions deployed in Afghanistan to fight a spreading Taliban insurgency.
The flames have been fanned by public statements made in a local German newspaper by retired four-star general Harald Kujat, a former inspector-general of the German armed forces and past chairman of the NATO Military Commission.
In the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper on Friday, Kujat called for a significant increase in German troop strength, saying it was "unavoidable". He said "the upper limit needed to be raised considerably - more toward the 8,000 mark than the 6,000 mark." The current maximum allowed by an existing parliamentary mandate is 4,500.
Insurgency is testing the limits of NATO forces
Kujat underscored his demand, noting that Taliban insurgents were growing stronger in northern Afghanistan, where German troops are stationed, and that an increase would enable German forces to take the military initiative to protect themselves and Afghan citizens. "We must come out of the corner the Taliban have pushed us into," he said. "We have to take the initiative and increase our fire power."
Kujat's comments come as U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of both the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, made urgent appeals for a dramatic change in tactics against the Taliban.
McChrystal warned on Thursday in London that time was running out, and that there was "a huge risk" that al-Qaeda terrorists will again find a safe haven in Afghanistan unless new tactics are put in place in the near future.
It is precisely this urgent timetable that has prompted a German defense ministry spokesman to admit that proposals have already been formulated to boost the German contingent in Afghanistan to somewhere in the vicinity of 7,000, despite the broad unpopularity of the mission among the general public.
But, just last Tuesday, Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said on the sidelines of an informal EU defense ministers meeting in Sweden that boosting the German contingent was not under consideration at this time.
The mixed signals coming out of Berlin can perhaps be explained by an Afghanistan conference first proposed by Chancellor Angela Merkel for the end of this year. It now appears that this international meeting will not take place before February or March of next year.
Afghan mandate will be a big test for new government
The German parliamentary mandate for the Afghan mission, however, expires on December 13. But, since no new strategy will have been agreed on by then, Germany is left with only two alternatives: Either the Bundeswehr seeks a mandate now to raise the troop deployment ceiling, or, the government must go back to parliament again in March for another mandate. It seems that the government – provided its prospective new coalition partner, the Free Democrats, agrees – has opted for the first alternative.
This news has prompted criticism from the opposition, with Paul Schaefer of the Left party claiming a "military expansion was being packaged as a civilian operation." Winfried Nachtwei of the Green party said "too little was being done on the diplomatic front with too little personnel."
Germany's role in Afghanistan will be an important issue on the agenda of coalition talks between the Christian Democrats and Free Democrats, which begin on October 5th, because a decision must be made very soon. It will also be one of the first major parliamentary tests of the new German government.
The coalition talks also come as a German attorney announced on Thursday that in the name of Afghan plaintiffs he would sue for damages against the German commander in Afghanistan, who ordered a NATO air strike on fuel trucks hijacked by Taliban insurgents in early September, which allegedly killed up to 30 civilians.
gb/dpa/AFP/AP
Editor: Andreas Illmer