BERLIN, Germany (UPI) -- NATO has urged the countries contributing to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan to drop limits on their missions, a move that calls on Germany to send its troops to dangerous southern Afghanistan where the death toll is rising. 'We need to better equip our forces in Afghanistan,' NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer wrote in a guest commentary in the Berliner Zeitung newspaper on the fifth anniversary of the Taliban`s retreat from Afghanistan`s capital Kabul. 'That also means removing the restrictions some countries have put on their troops.' Such a move would 'send an important and necessary signal among the allies,' he said.
De Hoop Scheffer`s comments are an obvious reference to the German resistance to allow its soldiers to be dispatched to the volatile south of the country, where Canadian, British and Dutch troops battle the increasingly active Taliban insurgency.
NATO, U.S. and British officials have repeatedly pressed Berlin to send some of its 2,800 soldiers stationed in and around Kunduz to the conflict zones, but without success.
The latest advance by de Hoop Scheffer on Monday was quickly fended off by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
'We have taken over responsibility in the north and have a mandate under which we help in the south during emergencies,' said Merkel, adding the parliamentary mandate would not be changed.
At his regular news conference, Merkel`s government spokesman Monday said the German ISAF mission, which needed parliamentary approval, enables German soldiers -- in a 'timely limited and punctual' fashion -- to be deployed to areas other than the north.
A Defense Ministry spokesman said 21 German communications soldiers were currently serving in the south, while the German Air Force flew transport missions into the combat zone. The north is not completely at peace, the German Defense Ministry added. A bazooka attack on a German-Afghan convoy comprised of three vehicles injured two Afghan policemen.
Peter Struck, a senior German government lawmaker and defense minister in the previous government, said the north was so calm because of the Bundeswehr`s presence, and pulling the Germans out may destabilize the region around Kunduz.
'If the Bundeswehr went further south, what would happen in the North?' Struck asked the Rheinische Post newspaper. 'We are doing our bit.'
The exchange comes as European Union foreign and defense ministers meet in Brussels to debate the 25-member bloc`s future role in Afghanistan. The country is experiencing its most critical period since the U.S.-led invasion, with the 2006 death toll at some 3,700 people -- a result of between 300 and 600 insurgent attacks each month, according to a new international report.
EU and NATO have had to admit that despite sending some 31,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, stabilizing efforts have failed, as the drug business still is not curbed, corruption remains high, and the Taliban is raking up fresh support.
In Brussels German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung underlined Merkel`s position but added that the EU as a whole may step up its efforts in Afghanistan, a move strongly advocated by Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot.
EU efforts could take on 'many forms, such as training troops, aid missions -- there are many ways the EU can help,' he said.
Dutch soldiers are among the troops who have to live through daily attacks in the south.
Individual EU nations already help by training police. Germany, Spain and Italy have police instructors on the ground, but military officials in the past have criticized the training programs.
The EU may take over the training program, observers say, while Germany has also signaled its willingness to expand the police training mission, in what observers say is a bid to calm international anger over Berlin`s unwillingness to send troops south.
The pressure on Germany is nevertheless rising -- some say the Democratic victory in the U.S. midterm elections may cause Washington to ask more from its European allies. Merkel may experience the increased pressure as early as at the end of this month, when she attends the NATO summit in Riga.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
De Hoop Scheffer`s comments are an obvious reference to the German resistance to allow its soldiers to be dispatched to the volatile south of the country, where Canadian, British and Dutch troops battle the increasingly active Taliban insurgency.
NATO, U.S. and British officials have repeatedly pressed Berlin to send some of its 2,800 soldiers stationed in and around Kunduz to the conflict zones, but without success.
The latest advance by de Hoop Scheffer on Monday was quickly fended off by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
'We have taken over responsibility in the north and have a mandate under which we help in the south during emergencies,' said Merkel, adding the parliamentary mandate would not be changed.
At his regular news conference, Merkel`s government spokesman Monday said the German ISAF mission, which needed parliamentary approval, enables German soldiers -- in a 'timely limited and punctual' fashion -- to be deployed to areas other than the north.
A Defense Ministry spokesman said 21 German communications soldiers were currently serving in the south, while the German Air Force flew transport missions into the combat zone. The north is not completely at peace, the German Defense Ministry added. A bazooka attack on a German-Afghan convoy comprised of three vehicles injured two Afghan policemen.
Peter Struck, a senior German government lawmaker and defense minister in the previous government, said the north was so calm because of the Bundeswehr`s presence, and pulling the Germans out may destabilize the region around Kunduz.
'If the Bundeswehr went further south, what would happen in the North?' Struck asked the Rheinische Post newspaper. 'We are doing our bit.'
The exchange comes as European Union foreign and defense ministers meet in Brussels to debate the 25-member bloc`s future role in Afghanistan. The country is experiencing its most critical period since the U.S.-led invasion, with the 2006 death toll at some 3,700 people -- a result of between 300 and 600 insurgent attacks each month, according to a new international report.
EU and NATO have had to admit that despite sending some 31,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, stabilizing efforts have failed, as the drug business still is not curbed, corruption remains high, and the Taliban is raking up fresh support.
In Brussels German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung underlined Merkel`s position but added that the EU as a whole may step up its efforts in Afghanistan, a move strongly advocated by Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot.
EU efforts could take on 'many forms, such as training troops, aid missions -- there are many ways the EU can help,' he said.
Dutch soldiers are among the troops who have to live through daily attacks in the south.
Individual EU nations already help by training police. Germany, Spain and Italy have police instructors on the ground, but military officials in the past have criticized the training programs.
The EU may take over the training program, observers say, while Germany has also signaled its willingness to expand the police training mission, in what observers say is a bid to calm international anger over Berlin`s unwillingness to send troops south.
The pressure on Germany is nevertheless rising -- some say the Democratic victory in the U.S. midterm elections may cause Washington to ask more from its European allies. Merkel may experience the increased pressure as early as at the end of this month, when she attends the NATO summit in Riga.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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