This pisses me off. First off, the German soldier is an extremely capable soldier, if we allow them to do what they are trained to do. The awarding of the ‘Iron Cross’ to some German soldiers last summer for actions in Afghanistan, are a prime example of what they are capable of.
So when I hear of their country taking a giant dump on their soldiers for fighting the war in Afghanistan, I get pissed. You’re either in, or you’re out. If you don’t want your soldiers in that war, then pull them out. If you want to send soldiers there, but really don’t want them to be soldiers in that war, then the message you are sending to the rest of the world and to your soldiers is a confusing one. It shows that you are confused about the realities of war and you could really care less about combating terrorism or defeating the Taliban. You want to play, but you don’t want to risk anything, and that does no good to the rest of soldiers in Afghanistan fighting the ‘just war’. If anything, your just taking up space and eating up food and fuel by being an ineffective army.
You do not win wars, with half measures and bad language. It takes extreme violence and serious resolve to defeat an enemy and break their will to fight. It sounds like the only war the politicians and a few people in Germany are wanting to fight, is the one against their own soldiers. Pfffft. By the way, I am thankful for the sacrifice and good work of the German soldier in Afghanistan. –Matt
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December 27, 2009
Strategy Page
There’s another military scandal playing out in Germany. Senior officers are being accused of lying. Although the lies were told to save German lives, many Germans don’t want their soldiers involved in combat, and are seeking to punish army commanders as much as possible for any activities related to combat.
All this began earlier in the year when the phrase, “the use of deadly force is prohibited, unless an attack is underway or imminent,” was quietly dropped from the NATO rule book for troops in Afghanistan. This particular rule meant that you could not shoot first, even if surrounded by armed Taliban. The Taliban knew all about this rule, and increasingly exploited it. The NATO contingents that followed this rule (not all did), were stationed in parts of northern Afghanistan where there were no Taliban. But in the last few years, Taliban moved into parts of the north occupied by Pushtun tribes, and proceeded to terrorize these tribes into tolerating, or supporting, the Taliban presence. The local NATO troops, there to provide security, were unable to do so. The Taliban knew the NATO rules, and exploited them.