Ahead of the end of US-led Nato combat operations in the war-ravaged country this year, Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered a sobering assessment of the 13-year mission.
"There is a lot to indicate that our biggest mistake was to create expectations that were too high," he wrote in a column for the weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
"We not only wanted to snuff out the security threat that Afghanistan represented but also lead the country at high speed into a future according to our own vision."
He said that despite progress in Afghanistan, the country was still plagued by a thriving drug trade and rampant corruption.
Warlords hold power in several provinces and violence abounds, Steinmeier added, lamenting that the extremist Taliban had been "long been underestimated as a political player".
But he said the deployment should not be seen as a failure, noting that compared to the situation in Syria or Iraq "the results in Afghanistan are fairly respectable".
- And he cautioned against "hastily leaving the country, like the Americans did in Vietnam in 1975".
Amid calls for Germany to match its economic might with more military muscle in the world's trouble spots, Steinmeier said there were clear conclusions to be drawn from Afghanistan.
"We must engage more decisively, not only look at military aspects," he said.
- "But we also need humility. We must accept sometimes how little can be changed from the outside."
Germany has been the third-largest contributor of troops to Nato's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, behind the United States and Britain.
After the end of combat operations this year, a Nato follow-up mission will take over on January 1, made up of 9,800 US troops and about 3,000 soldiers from Germany, Italy and other member nations.
The US force will be halved by the end of next year, before being reduced to a normal embassy protection presence by the end of 2016.
AFP -timesofindia.indiatimes.com
12/10/14
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Suicide Bombing on NATO Convoy in Kabul Kills Civilian...
ReplyDeleteOfficials in Afghanistan say a suicide car bomber has struck a NATO convoy in the capital, Kabul, killing one civilian and wounding three others.
No casualties among international troops have been reported.
The attack took place Monday morning near a housing compound for NATO contractors on the main road leading to Jalalabad.
"I was in my shop when suddenly I heard a huge blast, I don't know what the cause of the blast was," said a nearby shopkeeper.
The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing...............http://www.voanews.com/content/suicide-bombing-nato-convoy-kabul/2481745.html
13/10/14
Великобритания признала, что недооценила масштаб конфликта в Афганистане ...
ReplyDeleteВоенное руководство Великобритании недооценило масштаб конфликта в Афганистане. Такое мнение высказал экс-начальник Генштаба ВС страны Питер Уолл.
"Планируя операцию в Афганистане, мы посчитали, что для достижения ограниченных целей нам потребуются соответствующие силы, - приводит слова военного "Би-би-си". - Теперь я могу сказать, что наши расчеты оказались неверными".
По словам бывшего командующего воинским контингентом Соединенного Королевства в Афганистане бригадного генерала Эда Батлера, "в момент ввода британские военные были слабо вооружены и обладали ограниченными ресурсами".
В 2004 году британская армия все еще была задействована в Ираке, и военные признают, что у них было недостаточно сил, чтобы воевать на два фронта. Однако Великобритания направила в Афганистан 3,3 тыс. пехотинцев. "Оглядываясь назад, мы должны были понять, я должен был понять, исходя из ситуации в Ираке, что планы к лету 2006 года оставить в этой стране лишь от 1 тыс. до 1,5 тыс. военнослужащих оказались ошибкой, нам требовались десятки тысяч военных", - вспоминает бывший командующий в 2006-2009 годах сухопутными войсками Великобритании Ричард Даннатт.
С начала конфликта в Афганистане погибли 453 британских солдата.
http://itar-tass.com/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/1527106
23/10/14
Militants fired rockets in Kabul city’s Wazir Akbar Khan area Sunday that houses several embassies and high-security establishments, police said....
ReplyDeleteNo casualties were reported in the incident.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said “two rockets have hit the green zone, but there are no injuries.”
Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai confirmed the rockets caused no causalities.........http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/410734--militants-fire-rockets-in-afghanistan-captial
26/10/14