In his address, President Obama gave "the Afghan government, the allies and the international community a strong signal,” said Government Spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm at a press conference in Berlin.
Yesterday evening, the President spoke to Chancellor Angela Merkel by telephone, and informed her directly about the planned American activities in Afghanistan.
Yesterday evening PresidentObamapresented his new Afghanistan strategy: 30,000 more US troops, with the withdrawal scheduled to start in 2011. NATO allies are called on to step up their own engagement. "Now we must come together to end this war successfully. For what’s at stake is not simply a test of NATO’s credibility – what’s at stake is the security of our allies, and the common security of the world,” said the President, speaking to cadets at the US military academy at West Point.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared thereafter, that the USA’s allies would deploy at least another 5,000 soldiers in Afghanistan.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared thereafter, that the USA’s allies would deploy at least another 5,000 soldiers in Afghanistan.
German government counts on self-sustaining security
Whether or not international efforts succeed will depend on whether or not the Afghan people are soon able to ensure their own security. Experts term this "self-sustaining security”. Only then can Afghanistan become a democratic and independent state.
At the Afghanistan conference on 28 January in London, the international community will consider how swiftly this goal can be achieved. Afghanistan will, of course, also be represented, when the concrete steps and milestones are laid down.
The German government expects the Afghan government to do more to build the country’s own security forces. Good governance and economic and social development too should be more actively promoted by the Afghan government than has hitherto been the case.
Reassessing German engagement
In the light of the conference and its outcome, the German government will be reassessing its civilian and military engagement. Where appropriate, German commitments will be modified and stepped up if necessary.
The motto of German engagement is a "responsible hand-over”. Step by step, with clearly defined stages and interim goals, the Afghan side must assume responsibility for the country. Then it will probably be possible to scale back German military engagement.
In his inaugural speech the Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a pledge to this end. The German government will be taking him at his word.
German engagement in Afghanistan
The Federal Armed Forces are providing the third largest contingent of troops in Afghanistan. Along with their Afghan partners, German soldiers are ensuring security in the north of the country and in Kunduz.
German police officers are making a key contribution to developing the capacities of the Afghan security forces. Germany has contributed more than 1.2 billion euros since 2001, making it one of the largest donors after the USA and Japan. The Federal Defence Minister has already announced that another company will be deployed to Afghanistan under the terms of the existing mandate.
German development assistance to the region will be stepped up this year by 52 million euros to 144 million euros. By mid-2010, 200 German experts will be in place to progress with the training of the Afghan police. German police officers also make up part of the European police mission.
