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Germany seeks bipartisan backing for Afghan military mission
Jan 17, 2010, 12:14 GMT
Berlin - German defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg confirmed in an interview published Sunday that the government is seeking bipartisan support to continue with a deployment of German troops to Afghanistan.
Requiring opposition consent would appear to reduce the likelihood that Germany will make any bold offer of additional forces when Western nations meet at the end of this month in London to discuss ways to defeat the Taliban.
Local media said Chancellor Angela Merkel has already met with the leader of the opposition in parliament, former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and agreed to avoid any party-political dispute about the Afghanistan mission.
In the interview with the Sunday newspaper Bild Am Sonntag, Guttenberg declared support for this. German law only allows foreign military deployments after parliamentary approval for fixed periods.
'The widest possible parliamentary consensus is important to ensure our soldiers have backing,' said Guttenberg.
Steinmeier's Social Democratic Party (SPD) has stepped up criticism of the Afghan mission since its coalition with Merkel ended last year. It has pressed for a roadmap showing when the troops are likely to be withdrawn.
The current parliamentary consent sets a ceiling of 4,500 on the number of soldiers. Most are deployed with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the Kunduz region in the north of the country.
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