Junge Welt, Germany

War Without End

Translated by Ron Argentati

February 11, 2008

Germany - Junge Welt - Original Article (German)

Germany will still continue its participation in NATO’s Afghan war.  That’s the bottom line result from the contradictory reports and half-hearted disclaimers emerging from the so-called Security Conference held this weekend in Munich. 

Federal Minister of Defense Franz Josef young (CDU) and other cabinet members, with their constantly repeated statement that the topic was definitely off the table, have lied to the German public.  It was a stupid lie because they should have known that the United States would have no consideration for German domestic policy in selling their war.  To the contrary, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and his foreign policy colleague Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have declared their intention to appeal directly to the German public. 

 “The NATO allies must be honest with their people,” Rice claimed as early as Wednesday during a visit to London.  “The public must understand that this isn’t simply a peace mission.”  On the same wavelength, Gates said on Sunday in Munich, “I’m concerned that many people on this continent don’t see the magnitude of the direct threat to European security.”  He continued, “Imagine if the Islamic terrorists had launched an attack on Europe’s big cities as they did in New York on September 11th.”  He added that NATO cannot allow itself the "luxury" of allowing some states to engage in less dangerous missions while others “fight and die."

Right on cue, there were weekend warnings about German terrorists being trained in al-Queda camps.  The reports pointed out, however, that these camps were in Pakistan.  Does the United States intend to invite German soldiers to Pakistan in the near future as well?  That thought isn’t irrelevant when one reads the interview given to the Berliner Zeitung last Friday by American ambassador to NATO, Victoria Nuland.  According to Nuland, the combined counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan is “a catalyst for the adaptation of the alliance to the demands of the 21st century.”  Nuland further said, “If we can get it right in the Hindu Kush, we will also be stronger the next time we are called to defend our security and values so far from home.”  In so saying, the ambassador confirmed that in the final analysis the disagreement wasn’t about sending 1000 or 2000 additional German soldiers to Afghanistan, where they will hardly make a difference militarily.  It was all about bringing reluctant allies like Germany aboard, above all in combat missions, in order to have them along on the next strategic outings: military intervention in Pakistan and war against Iran.

It is already foreseeable that the “Rapid Reaction Force” of 250 men Germany is preparing to send to Afghanistan will be deployed to combat units in the south.  A report in Der Spiegel  news magazine that the German contingent, strengthened by 3500 to 4000 men, will see its mission broadened to include parts of western Pakistan has only been weakly denied publicly.  The length of the mandate may also be extended for 12 to 18 months in order to prevent it becoming a point of discussion during parliamentary debates and during the 2009 German elections.