Germany's Troop Surge

Germany's defense minister Franz Josef Jung announced his intention to deploy an additional 1,000 troops to Afghanistan by early October, bowing to NATO pressure. This would increase German troop levels to 4,500 at a time when 3/4 of all Germans oppose German military presence in that troubled country, according to recent polls. The surge us unlikely to appease the United States, since the additional forces will remain in the relatively peaceful north of Afghanistan, while the US and Canada are facing a growing threat from the Taliban in the south. It was up to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier to make the case for the surge in front of the Bundestag. Addressing parliament, Steinmeier said there had been "significant strides" in Afghanistan's development since the Taliban were driven out in 2001 "which one can be a wee bit proud of."  Steinmeier's problem is that there are not many people in Germany or elsewhere that believe that there have been "significant strides". 

The reaction in the German press to the announced surge has been rather muted, more like resigned disappointment that Germany is being dragged into a quagmire. Typical was this editorial by  Martin Rücker in the Wiesbadener Kurier with the subtitle  "Aufstockung der Bundeswehr-Truppe in Afghanistan ändert wenig an der schlechten Lage" ("A surge of German troops in Afghanistan will do little to change the bad situation there."):

Der Afghanistan-Experte (Conrad Schetter) am Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung der Universität Bonn erklärte: "Für die Handlungsfähigkeit der Bundeswehr ist die Aufstockung wichtig. Aber der Schwund an Sicherheit in den vergangenen Jahren war dramatisch - da sind 1000 Soldaten mehr nur ein Tropfen auf den heißen Stein." Bei Feldforschungen habe Schetters Institut eine zunehmend feindselige Stimmung in der afghanischen Bevölkerung auch gegenüber den Deutschen festgestellt: "Ausländer werden verstärkt als Besatzer und nicht mehr als Befreier wahrgenommen." (Conrad Schetter, the Afghanistan expert at the Center for Development Studies at the University of Bonn said: "The surge is important for enhancing the capabilities of the army.  But the denigration of security in the last few years has been dramatic - 1,000 more troops are just a drop in the bucket."  Surveys on the ground conducted by Schetter's institute show that there is growing hostility towards the German troops by the Afghan population. "Increasingly, foreigners are seen as occupiers and no longer as liberators.")

Many military analysts believe that it would take over 350,000 troops to achieve real security in Afghanistan, and there is zero will among the NATO partners to commit to anywhere near that level, and the US remains stuck in Iraq.

The big winner here will be the Left Party (Die LINKE), which has been consistent in calling for German troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. This was recognized by Green Party leader Claudia Roth, who said in an interview that the surge was "grist for the populists' mill", where "populist" is code for the hated Left Party.

 

Comments

[Hattie]

What is the goal of any of this? It just seems like a chronic situation. I'm pessimistic that there can be any good outcome in the part of the world.