[R-G] Germany Extends Commitment in Afghanistan, Defying Voters

[Anthony Fenton]

Germany Extends Commitment in Afghanistan, Defying Voters 
		   

By Andreas Cremer 		  
       
				  
				  
	
      http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=akpyQQXQGsbU&refer=germany
      Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet,
defying public opinion, extended German participation in a U.S.-
led force fighting insurgents in Afghanistan for another year.    
        
        The renewal, which lawmakers will be asked to approve on
Nov. 15, involves about 100 elite forces who will remain
assigned to Operation Enduring Freedom in the war-torn country
until Nov. 15, 2008.    
        
        A series of abductions of German soldiers and mounting
Afghan civilian deaths have sapped public support for the war
against Taliban, now heading into a seventh year. Sixty-one
percent of Germans want the country's soldiers brought home, an
Oct. 11 OmniQuest poll showed. Merkel's Social Democrat
coalition partners have criticized Germany's Afghan presence.    
        
        ``It's part of our contribution to safety and security,''
deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg told a regular Berlin
news conference today. ``There has never been any doubt inside
the Cabinet about the government's willingness to extend OEF.''    
        
        The decision will lower the ceiling on Germany's global
anti-terror contingent to 1,400 troops from the current 1,800,
though that may not affect the number of soldiers on the ground.
Germany currently has 250 troops deployed near the Horn of
Africa and another 50 in the Mediterranean, a defense ministry
spokesman said, refusing to elaborate.    
        
        The spokesman, speaking by telephone, said that extending
Germany's OEF commitment for another 12 months may cost about 45
million euros ($66.3 million).    
        
        NATO Mission    
        
        On Oct. 12, Merkel's coalition steered a motion through
parliament extending Germany's engagement with the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization in Afghanistan to assist rebuilding
efforts. Germany now has 3,500 troops in Afghanistan including
staff to operate six Tornado jets used for surveillance
purposes.    
        
        On Nov. 3, Merkel made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan,
where she assured President Hamid Karzai of Germany's commitment
to training Afghan police officers.    
        
        ``I would suggest that we help create a certain bit of
continuity on civil and military matters rather than keep
changing our strategy,'' Merkel was quoted as saying today in an
interview with the daily newspaper Berliner Zeitung.    
        
        Separately, the Cabinet approved an extension of Germany's
participation in two United Nations-led missions in Sudan today.
Merkel visited Africa last month, discussing ways with African
Union officials on how to end a four-year war in Sudan that has
killed 200,000 people and displaced 2.2 million.    
        
        To contact the reporter on this story:
Andreas Cremer in Berlin at 
   
     acremer at bloomberg.net         
     .