Troops in Afghanistan

Once again, politicians are taking an interest in the plight of the German soldiers in Afghanistan, and once again, the debate is inadequate. It is about equipment and arms, and whether they could be better.

In their minds' eyes, the politicians can already see heavy tanks rolling across the Afghan landscape, and they have been adding to their wish list everything the arms industry has to offer. This is clearly a reaction born of despair following the death of three German soldiers on Good Friday -- but one that isn't very helpful.

The debate about the best equipment is at best a mock battle that barely conceals what is really amiss - and that is the realization that the German armed forces cannot continue its mission in Afghanistan in the same manner as before.

The situation changed dramatically when, despite the presence of the armed forces, the Taliban began to spread out in northern Afghanistan, fighting German troops with mines, booby traps and perfidious ambushes. Under these circumstances, the troops' paramount interest must be self-defense and not stabilizing and rebuilding the country. If every patrol is life-threatening, then there is not much the armed forces can do in Kunduz and Masar-i-Sharif. They do not have the mandate to launch an offensive against the Taliban. As a consequence, they would have to pull out if they can no longer fulfil their mission, which is to secure the area and protect the population.

Conditions are worsening

2010 was expected to bring about a turning point in Afghanistan. More than 100,000 foreign troops are already stationed in the Hindu Kush mountains. Despite NATO'S assertion that Afghanistan cannot be won by military means, the West is forcibly trying to secure the country - but the conditions are worsening.

While foreign soldiers are dying in Afghanistan, President Karzai has been stabbing the allies in the back, questioning long-planned military operations, holding other countries responsible for election fraud and even sympathizing with the Taliban.

The fact that Karzai, who is known as a puppet of the West, is trying by these means to secure his political survival in this important year, is not at all a good sign. The ISAF mission has so far always been based on a fundamental concensus between NATO and the government in Kabul. Should that cease to apply, then the mission is called into question and the situation will become even more dangerous for the NATO troops - already reviled by many Afghans as unwanted occupying forces.

The Americans and other nations have been advancing on the Taliban strongholds, while the German armed forces are deployed in the back-country. All the same, the troops are stuck in a dead-end street, and the German government is partly responsible for that. It turned a blind eye to the warning signs, glossed over problems, and continued to tell the fairy tale of the successful stabilization mission, when war had long returned to the German area of operations in the north.

Now, the government is finally calling the war a war, but what does that mean for the German armed forces and their defensive mission? The government still owes an honest answer to the soldiers who risk their lives in Afghanistan every single day.

Nina Werkhaeuser reports on current affairs from Deutsche Welle's Berlin office. (db)
Editor: Jennifer Abamsohn