Rebuilding Afghanistan and Setting an Example for Iraq

Fischer's first stop in Afghanistan on Tuesday was the northern city of Kunduz, home to a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) of about 300 German troops. There are about a dozen such PRT's spread out in several cities around the country to provide security and help oversee reconstruction projects.

In Kunduz, the Germans are responsible for training local police officers. At each major intersection, there's a uniformed officer trying, often in vain, to regulate traffic. Still, there's optimism that things are starting to improve. At the city's bazaar, residents can get most of what they need. Electricity is being imported from neighboring Tajikistan, with varying regularity. But there's one area the residents have firmly under control -- they've organized at least 30 football clubs.

"We have the trust of the Afghan people right now," Fischer said, adding that this trust be put to use to enhance reconstruction in the country. He praised the German troops for doing a great job, and said the combination of civil and military personnel was proving to be effective. "I think we should continue down this path."

Role model for Iraq

The foreign minister reminded troops in Kunduz of the importance of the decision to extend NATO's mission in Afghanistan beyond the area around the capital, Kabul. Expanding security operations is seen as vital to the success of landmark presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for September.

Fischer also said the progress made in Afghanistan should serve as a role model in Iraq, where the reconstruction process is being stalled by fighting between coalition troops and Iraqi insurgents. "It's never too late to learn from our mistakes. It'll perhaps be more difficult, because time is being wasted, but it's never too late to learn," he said, adding that it's hardly a coincidence that the UN's former commissioner for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, is now the commissioner for Iraq.

Renewed committment

Fischer's trip comes just three weeks after an international donor conference for Afghanistan was held in Berlin, which garnered $8.2 billion in new pledges for reconstruction.

"The effort Germany put in for the success of Berlin is something that our people will remember forever," said Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who met with Fischer later in the day in Kabul.