| Big snip to just Merkel's comments; see following story for the basics. AoS. |
The German
"The Bundeswehr will continue to take responsibility there within the framework of its mandate, but I do not see any military commitment that goes beyond this mandate," Merkel said.
Merkel pointed to the importance of pursuing civilian rebuilding alongside the battle against insurgents. "We need more time than we thought and hoped for the development of Afghanistan," she said. "But I also say that we want to, and we must, lead this mission in Afghanistan to success, together with our allies."
"We in Germany know that we must fight for that, with the military, but we must also fight for the hearts of people in Afghanistan," she added.
Merkel insisted that "there can be no purely military solution, but without a militarily secured environment there can be no reconstruction in Afghanistan."
She pointed to other German efforts in the country, such as help in rebuilding the country's police. "The issue of Afghanistan is too important for us to let it dwindle into a military north-south debate," Merkel said.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier backed Merkel and said Germany might do well to project "a little more self-confidence" about what it is already doing. "I think we have good reasons not to give up, to limit our commitment in the north," he told parliament. "Of course I know that where we are responsible, we are still far from finished. But if stabilization has succeeded at all anywhere in Afghanistan ... then it is in the north."
| I have no problem at all with ensuring that the northern part of the country is secure and that reconstruction moves ahead. Security begets reconstruction; we know that. What I object to is that Germany wants the big pat on the back whilst leaving their 'allies' -- the Dutch, Canadian, Brit and Ami troops -- to face the biggest dangers in the south. There ought to be a rotation on this; let each contingent take their turn in whacking the Taliban. It would be good for the German military to get some real combat experience instead of just laying bricks. |