The U.S. Is Not The Only Country Abandoning It's Allies In Afghanistan

Interpreters gathered in Kunduz to demand better protection from the Taliban.

Alone Among Enemies In Afghanistan -- Deutsche Welle

The Bundeswehr is packing up and withdrawing from Afghanistan. Threatened by Taliban and unemployment, local Afghan employees feel abandoned and fear for their safety.

"What is going to happen to us once the Bundeswehr withdraws?” This is the question that looms uneasily in the minds of most Afghan translators engaged by the Bundeswehr in Kunduz. Around 30-40 men recently gathered in front of the German Armed Forces camp to draw attention to their plight. This is their second protest in the last two weeks. They fear for their future, even their lives, due to unemployment, on the one hand, and the wrath of Taliban insurgents on the other. The translators are considered traitors and infidels by the Taliban because they have been working for years with German troops.

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My Comment: These Afghans know that their time is up in Afghanistan.

Classified German Intelligence Report Reveals A Pessimistic Viewpoint On Afghanistan

German soldiers on patrol near Mazar-e-Sharif this April. A new reports raises doubts about whether troops will be able to leave the country on time. DAPD

Classified Report: Reality Contradicts Plans for Afghan Withdrawal -- Spiegel Online

Berlin maintains that Afghanistan is on the right track for German troops to withdraw by the end of 2014 as planned. But a classified report by the German foreign intelligence agency paints a different picture.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai likes to tell the West what it wants to hear. "We will fight corruption with great determination," he says. Or: "We will relentlessly strive for good governance."

Such messages are well received in the West, because they correspond with the rosy picture that Western officials like to relay to the public themselves. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, for example, has become somewhat of a master at this game. "We are on course to realize the withdrawal of international and German combat troops by the end of 2014," he recently said, while also pointing out how important it is to integrate former Taliban fighters into Afghan society.

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Update #1: Germans pessimistic about Afghanistan -- The Australian/AFP
Update #2: Afghan situation 'worse than government says' -- Local.de

My Comment: I guess the Germans are also not immune to political interference when it comes to what is actually happening in Afghanistan.

German Military Aid To Afghanistan Is Going Straight To the Black market

German Military Guns Reportedly Sold Illegally On Afghan, Pakistan Black Market -- Deutsche Welle

German military pistols are being sold on the black market in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The weapons were sent in 2006 and were intended for local police and army personnel.

Arms dealers in the region told German public radio that hundreds of German weapons were for sale carrying a price tag of over 680 euros a piece ($1,000).

In 2006, the German Defense Ministry shipped 10,000 old Walther-P1 pistols to the Afghan Interior Ministry to equip Afghan police and army. However, both the German government and the responsible US-led security team in Afghanistan reportedly failed to properly monitor the guns' whereabouts.

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My Comment: So typical of the German Social Democrats and Greens. They are so eager to help that they are not aware or sensitive that their good intentions will probably result (if not already) people being killed.

Unfortunately, this is probably just the tip of the iceberg. I can only imagine how many other NATO countries .... the U.S. included .... have done the same thing.

The German Retreat From Afghanistan

Angela Merkel is seen on the screen as journalists follow the TV election debate.
Photo AFP

Plan To Withdraw German Troops From Afghanistan Becomes Election Issue -- Times Online

Germany could start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan as early as 2011, according to a plan apparently intended to boost support for the Social Democrats before the election.

As Chancellor Angela Merkel and her rival and Vice Chancellor, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, embarked on a 90-minute television duel — actually more of a duet — to win over voters, the future of Afghanistan emerged as the only burning foreign policy issue.

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More News on Germany's Exit Plans From Afghanistan

Germany ponders Afghanistan exit strategy -- AP
Steinmeier shifts stance on troops -- Financial Times
German foreign minister wants Afghanistan pullout by 2013 -- Deutsche Welle
SPD wants German pullout from Afghan by 2013 - Spiegel -- Reuters

My Comment: It is not only Germany that wants to leave Afghanistan. I can say the same thing for every other country in the coalition .... including (if not now it will be soon) the United States.

Afghanistan: German Commander 'In Possible Breach Of Rules' Over Air Strike

German soldiers prepare for a mission in Kabul. Photo from The Daily Mail

From The Telegraph:

A German commander who ordered an air strike on fuel tankers that killed dozens of Afghans used intelligence from a single observer in a possible breach of tactical rules.

An American warplane dropped 500lb bombs on the tankers after they were hijacked by Taliban militants and then became stuck in a river.

Reports suggested dozens of civilians could have been burned alive alongside the militants as villagers crowded round the lorries to collect fuel before the bombs struck in northern Kunduz province.

The Washington Post reported grainy live video footage seen by the officer from the F15 jet had not been distinct enough to identify the figures seen around the tanker, and would not have shown them carrying weapons.

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My Comment: Last year the German soldiers were accused of being "too fat to fight Taliban because they drink so much" .... but this case has become more serious.

There are going to be consequences from this air strike, and it puts into question the entire German commitment to the Afghan War effort.