Berlin Rejects Washington Call for Troops on Taliban Front
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and senior members of her government are rejecting a call by US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to send Bundeswehr combat troops to Taliban hotspots in Afghanistan. Merkel’s spokesman says the existing Afghanistan mandate is not open for discussion.
On Friday morning, Germany Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung rejected a call by United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for Berlin to send combat troops to southern Afghanistan, where a Taliban-led insurgency has destabilized efforts to establish a democracy in the country.
This week, German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung received a letter from his American counterpart (more…) Robert Gates making it clear that the US expects more from the Germans. Washington wants Berlin to send combat forces to help with the fight in the southern part of Afghanistan.