Afstan: US troops to be under German command/Bundeswehr to mentor ANA in field

A bit more clarity. From Spiegel Online:

Partnering in Afghanistan
New McChrystal Approach Means Greater Danger for German Forces

During his much-anticipated visit to Berlin, US General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, refrained from making any demands for additional German troops. But McChrystal's new "partnering" strategy means the Bundeswehr will have to get involved in highly dangerous operations...

McChrystal wants to explain what he has in mind. He believes that NATO can succeed in Afghanistan, he says. And no matter how hard the journalists press him, he does not mention a single demand. "I am not asking for more troops," McChrystal said. Instead, he said, he is putting the 5,000 additional American troops that are being deployed to northern Afghanistan unconditionally under German command.

With his comments, the general revealed a refreshingly realistic view of the Afghanistan conflict. His message: We can win the mission, but that's not a given...

With his mild words, McChrystal was trying to accommodate the German government. Some three hours after the event at the Ritz-Carlton, McChrystal, dressed in an immaculate dark green dress uniform with sparkling medals, was standing next to Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. Guttenberg didn't need to explain to him how difficult it is to sell the Afghanistan mission politically in Germany, where a majority of Germans oppose the Bundeswehr deployment...

Exit Strategy

In their discussions, the two officials paid particular attention to McChrystal's exit strategy. That strategy envisions training as quickly as possible tens of thousands of Afghan soldiers who will then be responsible for the security of their country. It is supposed to happen quickly: US President Barack Obama wants to start withdrawing the first US soldiers as early as 2011. To make that happen, McChrystal has developed a new approach. Speaking in Berlin, McChrystal became enthusiastic when he talked about so-called "partnering," in which international soldiers train Afghans more or less by fighting together at the front.

From McChrystal's perspective, the new approach represents the key to success. "The international forces have better weapons and more fighting techniques," he said. "The Afghans speak the language, know the customs and have much better access to information." The best approach, therefore, is for units to fight, eat and live together, he said, explaining that that is the way camaraderie is built.

These are the moments in which the soldier in McChrystal can be heard. It's clear that he would like to be taking part in the training himself...

For the Germans, the new strategy involves far greater risks than before, as the deaths of the four soldiers last week made clear. Although the operation "Taohid II" that the soldiers were participating in did not make any real use of partnering, it was intended as a kind of blueprint for how the Bundeswehr can give practical training to Afghan soldiers. The aim was to drive the Taliban out of the Baghlani-jadid area with 3,000 Afghan soldiers using concentrated force. The Germans were to support the operation with logistics and technology. In last week's attack, three soldiers were killed by a booby trap and a doctor died when the armored ambulance he was traveling in came under fire.

Guttenberg assured McChrystal that the Bundeswehr would also train the Afghan National Army (ANA) in combat operations beginning at the start of 2011 [emphasis added]. The defense minister is speaking these days in increasingly realistic terms about the new approach. The partnering strategy conceals "new and greater risks" than current Bundeswehr activities, he said Wednesday. The situation in the north will become "dangerous, in parts even very dangerous," he said, adding that there was no point in "beating around the bush" when discussing the issue...

German forces will be increasingly dependent on US help in the coming months. The Bundeswehr has long suffered from significant gaps when it comes to the air transport of troops and special forces. The US Army is now moving quickly to fill these gaps. McChrystal will redeploy at least 56 US helicopters to Kunduz and Mazar-e-Sharif in the coming weeks [emphasis added, how can such a large military as the German have such a shortfall?].

This massive aid will also, however, make it harder for the Germans to resist the new, at times very robust, American strategy -- including the relentless pursuit of the Taliban.

Update: More from The Economist, with a useful chart:

What is this thing called war?
Slowly and painfully Germany’s leaders and voters are coming to terms with being at war in Afghanistan
...