Minimal goals

The time for illusions is over. That was conspicuously apparent at the London conference. The dream of a shining future, long upheld since the ousting of the Taliban, has faded into harsh realities. Corruption, cultivation of narcotics and the Taliban will never disappear totally. Aid donor nations have reconciled themselves to this. And, that has changed the focus, or rather, sharpened it.

From now on, a stop is to be put to the tendency of trying things out and tossing money around in an uncoordinated manner. As quickly as possible the international community wants to contrive a basis of stability in Afghanistan so that it can emerge from the nightmare of high operational losses.

A societal foundation is to be built using money and weapons that is supposed to guarantee the Afghans a minimum degree of calm and economic recovery, and the West peace. To achieve this minimal consensus, the international community will throw everything it can offer into the ring - more soldiers, more training, more development aid. That's the recipe.

It is not new, but it will be concocted with new ingredients. The Afghan government gets a last chance, otherwise its days as a recipient of generous donations will be over. And, at long last NATO troops will begin withdrawing from 2011, out of a vicious circle of violence and reprisals. To achieve that, 130,000 foreign troops are to throw themselves once more into battle this year.

The German government is pursuing this course with noticeable commitment, whereby its "new strategy" primarily comprises a pledge to fulfil old promises. For a long time there's been talk in Berlin of more training for Afghan police recruits and also significantly more civil reconstruction. The German Bundeswehr's military operation will also be placed on the test-bench. Through reassignments within the German contingent considerably more personnel capacity will be made available for the training of Afghan soldiers, a point which throws a questioning light on the operation's past effectiveness.

This renewed concentration on significant goals belongs to the positive outcomes of the London conference. Whether the means chosen will result in the desired success leaves room for skepticism. In particular reintegration of the Taliban and their affiliates, which was a big topic in London, is viewed by experts on Afghanistan as a scarcely solvable task.

The accumulated goodwill cannot disguise the fact that the outside world cannot solve Afghanistan's problems. The donor nations used the conference to pluck up courage and reassure a skeptical public. For, the international community does not have a 'Plan B' in its pocket.

Nina Werkhaeuser reports on current affairs from Deutsche Welle's Berlin office. (ipj)

Editor: Nancy Isenson