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"No vacuum" after Afghan withdrawal, Germany says
Dec 15, 2011, 11:37 GMT
Berlin - There will be no power vacuum in Afghanistan after Western forces withdraw their forces there, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told parliament Thursday.
Setting out government policy before a debate on extending the authorization for German troops to serve in Afghanistan, he said this year had been a turning point in Afghanistan's history.
'Afghanistan is better off than it was a year ago, and very much better off than 10 years ago,' he told the Bundestag. This was partly the fruit of the work of German diplomats and soldiers serving there, he said.
NATO's deployment in Afghanistan is scheduled to end in 2014.
'We won't be leaving behind a vacuum where fresh terrorism can thrive,' he assured lawmakers.
Germany, which currently has a troop ceiling of 5,350 personnel authorized to serve in the NATO force, is scheduled to reduce the number to 4,900 at the end of January and to 4,400 at the start of 2013. Germany's parliament must re-authorize the deployment every year.
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