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Afghanistan
No plans for German troops in south Afghanistan
2006-11-22
BERLIN - The German government said on Tuesday it had no plans to send troops to help quell a Taleban insurgency in southern Afghanistan. Chief government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm denied a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily that Germany was set to contribute troops for Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) to work in the violence-hit region. ‘There have been no deliberations about extending the PRTs,’ Wilhelm said.
"No, no, certainly not!"
There are currently about 2,750 German troops in the relatively peaceful northern part of Afghanistan.

The same newspaper reported at the weekend that the United States was putting pressure on Germany to deploy combat troops in the south. An unnamed high-ranking US defence official was quoted as saying: ‘The commanders in Afghanistan should be able to call the Germans in the morning and ask for a battalion to be deployed in the south. And they should be there by the evening.’
Much too dangerous, mein Herr!
Posted by:Steve White

#6  For sure we don't need combat units in Europe. Bring home the combat troops and air wings. Keep the hospitals as Ship said, and keep the rights to air bases for the transport aircraft. Keep some MPs to keep order and bring the rest home.

Over the past couple of years I've become really, really tired of the Euros. I basically like Euros, I have a few as friends, they're good people (most of 'em), but I've just about had it with their unwillingness to face facts and see what's happening in the world.

We have no responsibility to help defend a people who won't defend themselves.
Posted by: Steve White   2006-11-22 12:02  

#5  Yep, keep the hospitals, everything else out
Posted by: shipman   2006-11-22 09:27  

#4  Exact numbers are difficult to find. A March 2004 WaPo article had 102,000 troops in W. Europe, with 71,000 in Germany. In March 2006, the JCS testified that since 2003 the military had brought home approx 10,000, implying about 90,000 still in W. Europe with some units being rotated into Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course, reductions are still ongoing, but I would like to see units that rotate back to the US not be replaced.
Posted by: ed   2006-11-22 09:08  

#3  Are there still that many there ed? I figured most combat formations were long gone.
Posted by: Shipman   2006-11-22 07:12  

#2   Right on ed! Until Germany has their "9/11", they rightfully feel they don't have a dog in this fight! You take the unwanted troops out of South Korea and move our troops from Iraq there, we'd have a darn peaceful society of law abiding bicycle riders, backed by 170,000 smiling US Peace Keepers keeping watch!!
Ohh, and 'tit for tat' Germany in the future, when they need international 'assistance'!
Posted by: smn   2006-11-22 02:48  

#1  I can think of where there are 80,000 US troops not deployed usefully.
Posted by: ed   2006-11-22 02:22  

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