German minister confident of Afghan mission extension (Roundup)

Jan 21, 2011, 16:48 GMT

Berlin - Germany's defence minister Friday declared he was confident the government would secure a clear majority of parliamentary support for its Afghan mandate - denying that the government was split on a withdrawal date for troops.

'The year 2011 stands for the idea that no one wants to remain permanently in Afghanistan,' Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, during a debate. The Bundestag is due to vote next week on the mandate.

Guttenberg and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle had disagreed in earlier discussions on a provisional date for the withdrawal of troops, which for the first time is to be included in the mandate's text.

But on Friday the two ministers presented a united front, giving the end of 2011 as the date when Germany would begin to wind down its troop presence - as long as the situation on the ground permitted it.

Cooperation between the government departments responsible was 'first class,' Guttenberg said. 'I share quite explicitly the confidence that we can begin to draw down troops this year,' he said, adding that it would, however, be irresponsible to withdraw prematurely.

The opposition accused the government of only having found a formal compromise and demanded a more concrete withdrawal timetable, amid a backdrop of widespread public antipathy to the Afghan military operation among Germans.

'It cannot be the case that the defence minister stands up and says 'the cabinet's decision doesn't matter to me',' opposition Social Democrat parliamentarian Rolf Muetzenich said, in reference to the late 2011 deadline agreed earlier.

The new mandate would extend troop deployment until February 2012, with the maximum number of soldiers to remain at 5,350. The last fighting units would leave in 2014.

The Christian Democrat-Free Democrat coalition government is likely to be able to count on the support of most Social Democrats in the upcoming vote. Most Green party parliamentarians have declared they will abstain, while the Left party has demanded the immediate withdrawal of all German troops.

Germany is the third largest troop provider in Afghanistan, with roughly 4,900 troops on the ground.

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