DTN News: Berlin To Train Afghan Police Even After Security Handover

DTN News: Berlin To Train Afghan Police Even After Security Handover * Berlin is planning a long-term presence for German police trainers in Afghanistan. The German interior minister said the trainers, who instruct 5,000 police recruits a year, could stay in the country beyond 2014. Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources including Author: Joanna Impey (AFP, dpa) DW-World.com (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - August 22, 2010: After responsibility for security is handed over to Afghan police and soldiers in 2014, German police trainers will continue to teach local recruits. "That seems to me to be in tune with the sustainability of our current engagement," German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere told the dpa news agency. "But whether three, five, twenty or another number of police trainers will stay in Afghanistan, I can't yet say." In July, Afghan President Harmid Karzai told international diplomats at a conference that 2014 was the date when Afghans "will be responsible for all military and law enforcement operations throughout our country." It is a non-binding date, but has been seized upon by Western politicians facing electorates at home who are increasingly opposed to sending soldiers to fight an increasingly powerful Taliban insurgency for a national government plagued by high levels of corruption. Corruption is a problem De Maiziere said he could imagine that German trainers would handle officer training after the official handover of security. By the Afghan police force should number 134,000. German police train around 5,000 Afghans a year. The interior minister said that there were widespread problems of corruption in the Afghan state.

"A police force can only win authority in a country if it is free of corruption," de Maiziere said, adding that the same applies to the government. Germany has been working to help train Afghan police recruits for eight years as part of the EUPOL project. This year, the number of German police trainers rose from 170 to 250. Tense security situation The new regional commander of the international Security Assistance Force in Northern Afghanistan, German Major General Hans-Werner Fritz, says the deployment in the area is "reaching a kind of culmination." The security situation has gotten more tense over the last few months, Fritz told the German paper "Welt am Sonntag," but added that he was confident about making progress in the north of the country. "I can see that we have come on in terms of stabilization and reconstruction," he said, stressing that it was important to keep both the military and civilian components of the Afghanistan mission in mind. German Foreign Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg shared that opinion, saying the situation in parts of the country where German troops are stationed had gotten dramatically tougher. He said the Taliban has strengthened their positions in the north and even penetrated into formerly peaceful areas such as Kunduz. He stressed, however, that in other areas the security situation was showing some improvement. The ferocity of the war has been intensifying since the United States began deploying an extra 30,000 troops as part of President Barack Obama's surge in support of a counter-insurgency campaign aimed at speeding an end to the conflict. Germany has some 4,000 troops serving in Afghanistan. *This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

DTN News: Germany To Send More Troops To Afghanistan

DTN News: Germany To Send More Troops To Afghanistan *Source: DTN News / AP (NSI News Source Info) BERLIN, Germany - January 27, 2010: Germany plans to increase its troop contingent in Afghanistan by up to 850 and focus more strongly on training local security forces, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday. Germany has the third-largest army in Afghanistan — nearly 4,000 troops — but they are limited, by law, to non-combat roles. When that law expires, in December, will Berlin give its soldiers permission to start shooting? And, will they be ready to join more war-like nations, on the front lines? Or, are they too soft? (Photo/Daily Mail) By David Axe

Berlin plans to send 500 extra troops to Afghanistan.

It also expects to adjust the parliamentary mandate under which they serve to allow for another 350 soldiers to be deployed as a "flexible reserve," to help with events such as elections if necessary, Merkel said.

She gave the figures after meeting with ministers to thrash out Germany's position for this week's London conference on the future of Afghanistan.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Afghanistan Germany currently has nearly 4,300 soldiers in northern Afghanistan.

They serve under a parliamentary mandate that sets the maximum number at 4,500;

Merkel did not specify what the new upper limit might be. "We will set up training and protection battalions that will ensure that, by the end of 2011, the necessary training of Afghan soldiers can be achieved," the chancellor told reporters.

The number of soldiers involved in training Afghan forces will be increased from 1,400 from 280 at present, she said. The move is being coordinated with Scandinavian countries also stationed in the north, which also will set up a training battalion, Merkel added.

Separately, the number of German police offers on the ground training their Afghan counterparts will rise to 200 from 123.

The troop deployment is unpopular at home, and Merkel concentrated heavily on civilian reconstruction as she outlined Germany's "overall package" for Afghanistan. She said that "it opens a new stage - a stage of responsibly handing over to the Afghan government." Merkel said Berlin is not setting a withdrawal date for its troops.

Still, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said that Germany aims to start handing over security duties to Afghans this year. "We want to start reducing our own contingent in 2011 and we want to accomplish the handover of security responsibilities to Afghanistan in 2014," he said. Germany will nearly double its civilian reconstruction aid starting this year, Merkel said.

It is set to increase from 220 million ($311 million) per year so far to 430 million, and be targeted at improving roads, water and power supplies, education and employment opportunities in northern Afghanistan.

Germany also will pay into a planned international fund to help reintegrate insurgents into Afghan society, Merkel said.

She put the fund's total value at $500 million, or 350, over five years, and said Germany would contribute 50 million of that. The northern region where German troops are stationed has long been relatively calm, but there has been increasing violence over the past year in the Kunduz area.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was due in Berlin Tuesday evening to meet Merkel ahead of the London conference, which takes place on Thursday. Westerwelle will represent Germany in London.

DTN News: Afghan Commission Says 30 Civilians Killed In NATO Strike

DTN News: Afghan Commission Says 30 Civilians Killed In NATO Strike

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) BRUSSELS, Belgium - September 14, 2009: An Afghan government-appointed commission says 30 Afghan civilians were killed and nine wounded in a NATO air strike earlier this month in the northern province of Kunduz.

German ISAF soldiers gather after returning back to their base in Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009.

One investigator in the commission, Mohammadullah Baktash, says 69 Taliban also were killed when a German commander ordered the strike on Taliban militants who had seized two fuel trucks.

Initial NATO investigations had already indicated that civilians were among the victims. The commander of the NATO mission, U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, has appointed a board to conduct a thorough investigation into the events that led to the strike.

In related news, Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says his goal during the next four years is to lay the foundations to withdraw foreign forces from Afghanistan.

German media Sunday quoted Steinmeier as saying he is developing an exit strategy. He did not provide details or dates for withdrawal. Germans go to the polls to select a new government September 27.

Germany Offers Extra Troops for Afghanistan, UK Wants More / Gates Encouraged by NATO Discussions on Afghanistan

Germany Offers Extra Troops for Afghanistan, UK Wants More / Gates Encouraged by NATO Discussions on Afghanistan

(NSI News Source Info) KRAKOW, Poland - February 20, 2009: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he is encouraged by discussions with NATO allies here today on the way forward in Afghanistan.

“There was a lot of focus on the run-up to the Afghan election in August and the importance of added security,” Gates told traveling and international press following the beginning of the NATO defense ministers meeting.

At the meeting, Germany committed forces to help with security in Afghanistan as the election approaches. “We welcome the commitment of additional German forces for the upcoming Afghan national elections,” Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said.

“For those contests to be credible, voter turnout must be robust and representative, and improving the security situation is the key to making that happen. We encourage other nations to do as we and the Germans have now done and deploy more troops before Afghans go to the polls later this year."

The need for more resources on the civilian side of operations in Afghanistan also was discussed. The ministers heard from Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan Kai Eide.

Gates said it was important to hear from the Afghans, “because it’s fundamentally their fight, and we are helping them. The more we see them in the lead, the better it is.” Gates said he spoke with leaders about the review of U.S. Afghan policy that’s under way and stressed the inclusiveness of that strategy.

“There will be Afghan and Pakistani teams coming to the U.S. to work with us on it,” he said. Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, will meet with NATO allies in Brussels.

Obama’s recent decision to send more U.S. troops to the country will put resources in place to implement the strategy.

In the past, coalition troops have not had the manpower to hold areas after clearing out the Taliban and affiliated terror groups, Gates said. “What we are doing with this troop increase … is to have a more or less continuing presence with our Afghan partners … to bring security to the population,” he said. “Without that kind of security, economic development is very difficult.” Safe havens in Pakistan have contributed to the increase in violence in Afghanistan.

Gates praised the Pakistani military and Frontier Corps, a federal paramilitary force, for re-entering the fray in the tribal areas. The secretary said all of the ministers expressed strong support for training Afghan security forces.

All view the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police as the institutions that will lead the fight. “Particularly with respect to the police, more than in the past, there was an expression of the importance of helping to train and expand the police,” Gates said.

The secretary stressed the importance of civilian contributions to Afghanistan. Governance is key, and the secretary wants aid to local, district and provincial governments as well as the national government.

“The last thing the Afghans want is for us in some way to re-create warlords,” he said. “The question is, How can you engage the local population in defense?” Gates also spoke of the Kyrgyzstan parliament’s vote today to close Manas Air Base, an important logistics hub for the effort in Afghanistan.

“Manas is important, but it is not irreplaceable,” the secretary said. “We are going to continue to work with the Kyrgyz. We [have] not resigned ourselves to this being the last word.” U.S. planners have looked at alternatives to the base.

“Speaking for myself, since the Department of Defense will have to pay the bill, I think we are prepared to look at the fees and see if there is justification for a somewhat larger payment, but we’re not going to be ridiculous about it.” He said he hopes to “walk this back” with Kyrgyz leaders and continue the arrangement.

“Like I said, it’s an important base, but not so important that we will waste taxpayer dollars,” he said. The global economic crisis colors all deliberations, “but there was less mention of that today than I expected,” Gates said. taking significant budget cuts, but “by inference, people aren’t using the

“There have been a few people who have said they are not cutting back on their commitment, but they are not increasing their commitment as much as they would like because of budgetary pressures.”

Many NATO defense ministries are economic crisis as an excuse to cut back on their contributions or to walk away from their commitments to Afghanistan,” Gates said.

Germany To Base Troops In France For First Time Since WWII

Germany To Base Troops In France For First Time Since WWII

(NSI News Source Info) Paris - February 5, 2009: French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed Wednesday that a German battalion will shortly be stationed on French soil for the first time since World War II.

"France will host a German unit permanently on its soil," the two leaders wrote in a joint statement published by the website of the French daily Le Monde. They stressed "the historic significance” of this new step in Franco-German friendship.

The hundreds of German troops will be serving in the Franco-German brigade that was set up in 1989 and which currently has 2,300 French soldiers and 2,800 German forces stationed side-by-side in southwest Germany.

Der Spiegel magazine reported last month that 500 German soldiers would be stationed in the border town of Colmar but reports in the French press cited Strasbourg, Metz or Bitche as possible bases.

German troops occupied much of France during World War II. The eastern Alsace-Lorraine region has a patchwork history of annexation and occupation under both countries.On the website of Le Monde, the two leaders also called for "real co-operation" between NATO and the European Union, saying the "strategic partnership" between them was not strong enough. "To our great regret, the 'strategic partnership' between NATO and the EU has fallen short of our expectations due to disagreements that persist between certain nations," they wrote.

The two leaders are due to meet on Saturday at the Munich security conference, an annual meeting called the "Davos of defense." The Franco-German Brigade was set up by then French president Francois Mitterrand and German chancellor Helmut Kohl to increase military cooperation between the two former enemies.

There are German officers based in Strasbourg in eastern France who are engaged with the NATO mission Eurocorps, but no German military unit has been stationed in the country since the end of World War II over 60 years ago.

There are also regular exchanges between the two countries including German officers who study at French defense academies and helicopter pilots who train in France.