What Role Should Germany Play in Afghanistan?

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Germany should just say "No" to the American military when they ask it to send more troops to Afghanistan. It doesn't have to fight their wars for them. - James Wilder, US

Germany should stick to her more peaceful of mandate winning the hearts of the Afghan people. Having to send combat planes means somebody miscalculated the situation and wants Germany to be pulled into a dangerously escalating combat situation. - G. Gosau, Canada

Germany is a member of NATO and NATO has made a commitment to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. Therefore, Germany should send anything required to combat this threat to Europe and the NATO states. NATO has depended for too long on the United States to do much of the dirty work in defense of Europe. It's about time Europe began to learn once again about the ugly business of defending itself from foreign threats. Europeans (including Germans) believe that everything can be solved with diplomacy. Americans learned the value of diplomacy with Islamic fundamentalists after the failed foreign policies of the Clinton administration which culminated with 9/11 after he left office. I hope Europe never has to learn the lesson the way America did. - Martin Peterson, Texas, US

The Tornado fighter jets are intended for reconnaissance purposes

Let the US be the world cops. I am tired of the Middle East and the crazy people that live there. Let them kill each other if they want. - Ryan Fischer, Canada

Don't you send planes to a war zone to kill people? That does not sound like today's Germany. - John Philippen

The war in Afghanistan is a great opportunity for Germany. It is an opportunity to join the Anglo-American alliance. This was a dream of Bismarck and could propel Germany to the leadership of Europe. The German people should not sit on the fence. - Charles Ritzel

I feel personally that, instead of deploying troops, it is better to solve the conflicts with negotiations and peaceful means. The problem in Afghanistan is war. The common people have been suffering due to the war for the last 28 years and almost a whole generation has been born in this ugly period of war in and around Afghanistan. Who can know better than the German themselves the effects of war and living a life under the clouds of arms and ammunitions? Germans have helped the Afghani people a lot by hosting a number of Afghani refugees. One clear sign of this help and generosity can be seen in two of the ministers in the present Afghan government. Both lived in refuge in Germany during the hard times of their life. Instead of sending more troops and spending more money on guns and bombs, it's better to help by building new factories and production plants so as to engage the Afghanis in normal life and enable them to live with dignity. - Suhail Kureishi