New plans
January 6, 2010
The German government says it intends to unveil new strategy plans at the international conference on Afghanistan in London on January 28.
German Defense Minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg told the daily Leipziger Volkszeitung that concrete plans would be announced in London, and that they would concern more than just new troop levels.
"Germany has not changed its stance: a stable future for Afghanistan is not something that can be achieved by military means alone. We will focus our concentration on civilian reconstruction efforts so that Afghanistan can begin to establish security on its own and determine its own future," he said.
Germany will make "own decision"
Guttenberg went on to say that the plans were not yet complete and that exact troop levels had yet to be established. He emphasized that pressure from other NATO members - in particular the US, which announced in November that it would deploy an additional 30,000 soldiers - would not influence any German troop surge.
"Again and again, we are hearing calls to send an additional 2,500 soldiers, but that number is unrealistic. I am not somebody who is susceptible to peer-pressure, and I don't need help from the United States to make my decision," Guttenberg said.
According to the daily Rheinische Post newspaper, Chancellor Angela Merkel has created a committee to fine-tune Germany's Afghanistan strategy three weeks before the London conference.
The committee, which convened Wednesday in the Chancellery for the first time, includes Guttenberg, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Development Minister Dirk Niebel, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, and Merkel's chief of staff, Ronald Pofalla.
glb/AP/dpa
Editor: Nancy Isenson