UN head in Afstan wants more NATO troops

Whenever you see references to European or German attitudes and perceptions, read "Canadian". I wish the Canadian populace, pundits and politicians could see this--and I wish our government could make the case for the Afghan mission as cogently and powerfully:

German politicians are growing increasingly uncomfortable with the presence of Bundeswehr troops in Afghanistan. UN Special Representative for Afghanistan [and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan] Tom Koenigs spoke to SPIEGEL ONLINE about the need for Germany and its troops to persist in Afghanistan and to keep the promise the West made to the war-torn country...

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Displeasure over the deployment of Bundeswehr troops seems to be growing in Germany. The split over this issue can also be observed within your party, the Greens. Left-leaning regional Green Party groups want to put the issue of German troops in Afghanistan back on the agenda at a special party conference planned in September before the federal parliament votes on renewing the mandate.

Koenigs: We can't cave in to the terrorist threat. That would be the worst thing you could do to the Afghans and to the aid workers who want to continue working there. You have to face the challenge and vigorously stay on course. There is no other way to bring the situation under control. And one must not forget: The Afghan people have asked us to support them. After all, they suffer most from the terror of the Taliban...

...We have promised them we would support the reconstruction of their country and the restoration of democracy. Most Afghan people would like to see more, rather than fewer, Western troops in their country in order to improve security. The Americans have just contributed more troops. The British have also provided more troops. And there is strong pressure on other countries.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Should the Germans send additional troops to Afghanistan?

Koenigs: That would be very desirable, especially people who can provide training. At the moment, the key is to strengthen the Afghan security forces. In the long term, they are the ones who must secure peace, justice and the law in the country. The international forces must stay and keep the country stable until the national forces are strong enough to defeat the insurgency. International military forces can't strike down a national insurgency. That's the Afghan army's job.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What does your hope that the Afghan military can achieve that rest on?

Koenigs: The Taliban are unpopular, even in the south of the country. We have to rely much more strongly on the local police and train policemen much better, as well as much faster. The successes so far with building a civilian and democratic police force still leave much to be desired. In that area, we are still far from having achieved the target. The Afghan people want more support from us in that area. If the reverse were to happen, the Taliban and also the international militant Islamist movement would see any reduction in committment as (ISAF) faltering that would then be exploited for their propagandic purposes. Taliban operations are always aimed very directly at European parliaments and at the various political situations in the countries of origin of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops...

SPIEGEL ONLINE: This autumn Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, will once again vote on whether or not to extend the mandate of the German troops deployed in Afghanistan. Is there a possibility we will have to prepare for more targeted operations prior to the decision?

Koenigs: That is probably going too far. But it is striking that the Taliban follow the decisions in the European countries very closely and are familiar with the weak points.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What would be the highest aspiration of the Taliban? Pressuring a country to break out of the alliance?

Koenigs: Not just that, but that the entire international community (in Afghanistan) crumbles and withdraws from Afghanistan for lack of critical mass [emphasis added].

SPIEGEL ONLINE: So the Taliban are hoping for a process of political erosion?

Koenigs: Yes, both in the military and in the civilian areas. But that the international community would commit itself more strongly now is something the Taliban were certainly not expecting when they began their massive insurgency one year ago. Nor were they expecting that aid for Afghanistan -- both military and civilian -- would now find almost unanimous support in the US Congress.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is the US military strategy in the south providing the Taliban with combatants and sympathizers because of the high number of civilian casualties [this might help reduce those casualties - MC]? Some critics of the United States, such as German Left Party politician Oskar Lafontaine, come close to claiming that the Taliban have a right to revolt.

Koenigs: I have difficulty seeing the right to revolt against a democratically elected government. I don't know what norms that should be derived from. Moreover, the Taliban are an extremely brutal movement that rides roughshod over classic martial law. They don't even distinguish between combatants and civilians.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: You don't think the United States should reconsider its military strategy?

Koenigs: The United States does not have a separate military strategy. Nevertheless, there are coordination shortcomings on the strategic level. The harmonization of civilian and military strategy has to be improved. Coordination within the military forces is also suboptimal [emphasis added]. The local international commander and the Afghan commander sometimes don't know what the other side is doing at any given moment. In the worst case scenario, that can lead to civilian casualties...

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Are the Germans simply too impatient when it comes to the mission in Afghanistan?

Koenigs: One cannot expect that, in only five years, all the problems can be solved in a country that has just experienced 30 years of civil war. When I came to Afghanistan a year and a half ago, the warlords seemed to be the main problem. One hardly hears about that now. Progress has also been made in health care and in fighting infant mortality. But we must never forget that Afghanistan is the fifth-poorest country in the world. We need patience and stamina and should not allow ourselves to be discouraged by temporary setbacks. Most importantly, we should keep our promise. Those who want to withdraw now would leave the Afghan people in the lurch and abandon them to a terribly brutal movement.