Word: afghanistans
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Klein's article did not show Obama's mind-set, which was reflected throughout his speech. He consistently opposes war, and his intention in committing more troops to Afghanistan is to bring a speedy end to the conflict. Obama is right not to dramatize the war, for doing so would merely rebrand it a box-office attraction. The President's speech should be praised for its message of regrettable military necessity rather than drama-filled military glory. Paul Stafford, WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA...
...Merkel, Afghanistan is an even trickier diplomatic and economic mire. Germany is a generous donor of humanitarian aid there - as it is elsewhere in the developing world. But at 4,300 troops, Germany also provides the third largest contingent of forces in the theater, after the U.S. and Britain. In December the German parliament voted to extend the deployment in Afghanistan for another year, and the European allies - as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has acknowledged - have reduced the number of so-called caveats that limit when troops may be deployed in combat. (Most German troops, for example, have been...
...even comparatively low casualty figures are shocking for many in Germany - a country that eschewed armed conflict for more than 50 years - who had persuaded themselves that their nation's role was solely humanitarian. Then in September, German forces called in a U.S. air strike in Kunduz in northern Afghanistan to destroy oil tankers that had been hijacked by the Taliban. Some 140 people were killed, many of them civilians. That changed the perception of the mission among the German public and politicians alike. Franz Josef Jung, who was Defense Minister at the time of the bombing, resigned over...
That view did not go down well at home. Most Germans - 69% in a recent poll - want their troops out of Afghanistan as soon as possible. Merkel is now under growing pressure from Washington and other contributors to the Afghanistan mission to boost the German presence as part of Barack Obama's surge strategy. As a genuine Atlanticist, she will not want to snub the U.S. call for help. But as an arch-pragmatist, she knows that public opinion in Germany will not blithely countenance a significant increase. She refuses to comment on her plans until she attends an international...
Giving Up Power However Merkel chooses to settle policy on Iran and Afghanistan, her style of decision making will remain her own. Merkel, like Obama, believes that nations cannot tackle an issue like economic turmoil, terrorism or climate change by themselves. Where she differs from most other leaders is in the direction this analysis takes her: that true leadership involves the surrender of power. Again, history is important; Germany's past has convinced its leaders that trouble beckons when the country acts alone and that happiness comes from working with others. "With the European Union," Merkel says, "we Europeans have...