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Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) wanted to start working on Afghanistan quickly. Parliament’s criticism of the timing causes disappointment in the Bundeswehr.
Berlin – On Wednesday, Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) started the political reappraisal of the Bundeswehr’s Afghanistan mission. “It is important not to simply complete the mission, but to work through it,” said Kramp-Karrenbauer at the beginning of the discussion event in Berlin.
Politicians from the CDU and the Greens described the appointment as “disrespectful and unworthy”. The date coincided with the exploratory talks after the federal elections and runs the risk of falling under the table, so the tenor of the criticism. In addition, the scope is not appropriate for the occasion. The FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann spoke of an “unacceptable snub to parliament”.
Not only the parliamentary groups in the Bundestag had canceled, but also Defense Minister Heiko Maas (SPD). “The criticism from parliament about the timing of the event was noted” at the foreign ministry at the weekend, according to a spokesman. “Under these circumstances, Foreign Minister Maas decided against participating in the event at this time.” The Ministry of Defense was informed of the cancellation on Monday evening. Maas should have made a welcoming speech.
Coming to terms with the Afghanistan mission: Bundeswehr sees two key questions for the future
Military operations such as the work of the Bundeswehr in Afghanistan are – despite the numerous points of criticism, especially at the end of the mission – not generally doomed to failure. The Bundeswehr sees it that way even after the Taliban quickly came to power.
“It is important to me that we do not draw the conclusion from the final images of the last few months that international – including military – crisis management with the aim of stabilizing a region cannot be successful and should therefore not even be attempted,” said Eberhard Zorn at the event on Wednesday.
The inspector general of the Bundeswehr nevertheless pointed out that critical questions were appropriate. “Have we overwhelmed the country and its people?” And: “Why did the development of the situation surprise us so much in the end?” This must be discussed further with a view to current, past and future missions. The military had created a security framework in Afghanistan. However, this was not used for political stabilization.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer embarrasses herself with an appointment to come to terms with Afghanistan
All parliamentary groups had canceled their participation in the event from the Ministry of Defense. Among other things, they pointed out that the new federal government should deal with the issue first, and then in more detail. Meanwhile, representatives of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP agreed on Wednesday that three talks for a traffic light coalition should be held from Thursday.
Kramp-Karrenbauer defended the choice of date for the event “It is important to start the debate today, before honoring the soldiers” on October 13, stressed the minister. At the same time, she emphasized that the lessons from the deployment should not only be applied to the Bundeswehr. It was “a multinational, multidimensional mission that had to be dealt with”.
She received support from the German Armed Forces: “Personally, I consider the timing to be incredibly appropriate,” said Oberstabsfeldwebel Oliver Wendel, who was deployed several times in Afghanistan, to the AFP news agency. The prelude must happen “under the federal government, which sent us to these missions for the last time and mandated them”. In addition, the mission is now still present with the soldiers and their families. “That is why I would have expected the politicians who sent us into action to face this discussion too,” said Wendel. He described the parliamentarians’ rejections as “disappointing”. (kat / AFP / dpa)