German parliament debates Afghan strategy

Feb 10, 2010, 9:28 GMT

Berlin - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle sought parliamentary approval Wednesday for the government's new Afghanistan strategy, which includes up to 850 extra troops and a renewed focus on training local security forces.

'Simply continuing as present is no option. Simply walking and looking away is not either,' Westerwelle told the parliament, or Bundestag.

Germany cannot deploy troops abroad without annual parliamentary approval.

On Tuesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet agreed to the new military strategy. This would increase German troop numbers to 5,350, of whom almost a quarter are to be tasked with training local security forces.

The government has also offered up to 10 million euros annually for an internationally funded Taliban reintegration programme, aimed at encouraging militants to give up arms.

The fund was agreed to at an international Afghanistan conference held in London last month.

Westerwelle told parliament that the aim was to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan next year, and complete the security handover to Afghan troops by 2014.

'Whoever wants to achieve a responsible handover in the coming years, needs to strengthen their efforts today,' the foreign minister said.

However, Westerwelle stressed that he was not setting a fixed withdrawal date. 'To do so would be an encouragement to the terrorists, and therefore a mistake,' he told the Bundestag.

Although Merkel's government has a safe parliamentary majority, she is seeking bipartisan support, because the Afghanistan deployment is deeply unpopular among Germans.

Westerwelle's speech was followed by a parliamentary debate on Afghanistan. Merkel is seeking authorization from the Bundestag by the end of the month.