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| Afghanistan | |
| Germany fears Afghan backlash to Iraq attack | |
| 2003-02-21 | |
| The German government has warned that a US-led military attack on Iraq could inflame radical Islamist feeling in Afghanistan, endangering its troops in the multinational International Security Assistance Force (Isaf). According to a confidential document from the German Foreign Office, "hostility towards the leading role of western countries" is mounting even among the Afghan government's security forces. German troops may have to be withdrawn if the situation deteriorates seriously. I guess the Afghans don't keep up on German foreign policy Germany and the Netherlands took over joint command of the 4,000-strong Isaf mission in Afghanistan this month. Germany has 1,700 troops, rising to 2,500 by the end of next month. Peter Struck, German defence minister who visited Kabul last week, warned of the dangers of remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban supporters. But until now, Berlin has not drawn attention to the threat posed by the Afghan government's own security forces. The report warns that government troops, mainly those from the Northern Alliance - the anti-Taliban union of Afghani ethnic and religious groups - are in a position to damage the work of Isaf in Kabul" and to block the routes to the military airport in Bagram. Although the situation in Kabul has improved, the report says police are in a weak position to maintain public order.
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| Posted by:Paul Moloney |
| #8 If "inflamed" jihadis becomes a problem, there is an obvious solution: death. If I was a peacekeeper in Afghanistan, then I would treat a jihadi's life as of less value than that of a mosquito. I love the smell of napalm in the morning, afternoon, evening and night, 24-7. |
| Posted by: Anon 2003-02-21 22:02:45 |
| #7 RW: My info says that Putin is financing certain warlords, and if so I'm betting it's not going towards humanitarian causes. Right though, no info that he's shipping arms directly. My bad on the mental shortcut. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2003-02-21 13:28:37 |
| #6 "German troops may have to be withdrawn if the situation deteriorates seriously." Like if somebody starts shooting. Are you sure this isn't Chirac talking? Lately he has been using Schroeder as his version of Charlie McCarthy - or maybe Mortimer Snerd. |
| Posted by: John Anderson 2003-02-21 12:58:53 |
| #5 Who's Pooty-Poot? If you're thinking about Putin, he's not arming the warlords, not with weapons anyway. Most of those AKs you see them parading around with are knock-offs made in the NWFP, if not Afghanistan itself, or somewhere else in Pakistan. |
| Posted by: RW 2003-02-21 12:48:28 |
| #4 Armed Boy Scout: So US and Brit Spec Forces are needed somewhere else and you see it as a tuck and run? Sorry, that doesnt' cut. First off, using those troops on any protracted hunt is a waste of talent, and second Binny isn't in Afghanland anyway. Nice try. A civil war is another ball of wax. We have to come down on Pooty-Poot to knock off arming warlords. Either way, I don't see any indication of US / Brit bailing because things are getting dicey. You've heard of Iraq , right? |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2003-02-21 11:34:54 |
| #3 Germany has a leadership problem, and it seems to flow down to military leadership also. We are now in the process of sorting out our foul- and fair-weather friends. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-02-21 09:41:21 |
| #2 Actually some others ran from trouble... The US and British Special Forces (needed elsewhere) who pretty much gave up on finding Osama. Of course the upcoming Afghan civil war is a bloody mess the US rather not get into. What do you have weasels for to sort it out, right? Talking about leaving allies out in the cold... |
| Posted by: Armed Boy Scout 2003-02-21 09:35:22 |
| #1 Want the use of having a force there if they run at the first sign of trouble? The German army sure has changed. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-02-21 08:54:10 |