Frosty German Reply To US Call For Help In Afghanistan

The criticism by Washington of the level of support provided by some Nato countries for the mission in Afghanistan took on a new harsh note today when it emerged that the American Defence Secretary had written to his German counterpart in “an unusually stern” manner, urging him to send troops to fight the Taleban in the south.

Robert Gates, who complained recently that Nato countries lacked sufficient counter-insurgency skills for the operation in southern Afghanistan, wrote to Franz Josef, the German Defence Minister, after increasing frustration in Washington over the national caveats adopted by Germany and other alliance members.

Under these caveats, national governments insist on the right to restrict their troops to specific tasks and to specific parts of Afghanistan; in particular, certain members of the alliance have refused to send troops to the south where all the fighting is going on.

Mr Gates’s letter to the German Defence Minister, which was sent about a week ago, was leaked to the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. He asked for German combat troops, helicopters and parachutists to be sent to the south.

According to the newspaper, Mr Josef responded in a similarly “direct and stern” letter. He made it clear at a press conference today that Berlin had no plans to deploy any troops to southern Afghanistan, and that the German soldiers would continue to focus on reconstruction efforts in the north.

The Germans currently have 3,100 troops in the north, based at Kunduz, and although they have suffered some casualties, they have not encountered significant opposition from the Taleban which has focused its insurgency operations in the south, in the provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Oruzgan.

German defence sources said that in extreme circumstances where help was needed in the south, Germany would consider sending troops to the south but only for a brief period. “The location we have been given is in the north and that is where we are staying, and, by the way, although it might seem more peaceful at the moment, there is no knowing whether that will last,” one source said.

The sources pointed out that the German Bundestag had to approve any changes in troop dispositions in Afghanistan, and so far it had only agreed to the deployment of 3,500 troops to the north. At present Germany has 3,100 troops in Kunduz, and an extra 250 soldiers are to be sent soon to form a quick reaction force in the north.

Mr Gates also raised the issue of sending troops to the south with Herve Morin, the French Defence Minister, at a meeting in Washington. France has about 1,600 troops in Afghanistan, most of them serving in Kabul.

Germany, France, Italy and Spain - the latter two countries with troops in western Afghanistan - all agreed at the Nato summit in the Latvian capital of Riga last year to send troops to the south but only “in extremis”. Since the summit, no troops from these countries have gone to help the Nato countries which have taken on the burden of confronting the Taleban in the south.

About 14,000 troops are located in Nato’s Regional Command South, with the principal players being Britain, the United States, Canada, The Netherlands and Denmark. Estonia also has a small but effective force and there are limited contributions from Slovakia and Romania. Australia, not part of Nato, is also a significant contributor in the south.

Nato commanders insist that the operation in Afghanistan needs another 7,500 troops. There are currently about 41,000 serving with Nato’s International Security Assistance Force.

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