Killer Teams

Diplomatic Initiatives

Applying massive pressure, the German government has been able to largely suppress the strong international criticism of the Kunduz Massacre. German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned last Tuesday in front of Parliament that she "will not tolerate a rush to judgment from anyone, whether inside the country or abroad."[1] The Foreign Ministry took diplomatic steps to quell criticisms in various EU and NATO countries.[2] The ambassador of Luxemburg, whose foreign minister had decisively protested the aerial attack [3] was summoned to the Parliamentary States Secretary in the Defense Ministry. Soon thereafter, Luxemburg's Foreign Minister apologized on the state controlled Deutschlandradio. He said that he "had reacted less as a politician, than as a human being" and apologized. He had certainly not wanted to "single out Germany," on the contrary; he has "a great deal of respect for the all of the military" in Afghanistan, particularly "the German military."[4] German pressure has greatly angered foreign diplomats. In the Quai d'Orsay the question was heard: "what are you supposed to say when you are told of such a raid with 80 casualties including civilians? Nothing?"[5]

No Complaints

German media are reporting on approval of the massacre also in Afghanistan. "The Germans have the full support of the population" declared the governor of Kunduz Province. "We have not received any complaints about civilian victims."[6] The leader of the Afghan investigation committee is being quoted with similar surprising allegations. "The responsibility for killing the civilians lies solely with Mullah Abdurrahman (a leader of the insurgents, gfp) and not with the coalition forces" the man, who is the head of the criminal police in Kabul, is said to have declared. "The bombing was legitimate in our eyes."[7] Using similar terms, another member of the investigation committee expressed his sympathy for the bombing on the weekend. The committee has admitted the deaths of at least 30 civilians in the course of the massacre. But regardless of the avowals of Berlin's Afghan governors, exposing the humanitarian standards of the occupation, this massacre could become a subject of investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Thursday, the ICC initiated the first preliminary investigations into suspected war crimes committed by insurgents and NATO, on the issues of torture and so-called collateral damage.

Controversially Discussed

While the German government is seeking, at any costs, to hold together the home front and the western war alliance, tensions are growing inside the Berlin establishment. This has been caused by discussions in the USA on a withdrawal in the foreseeable future, prompted by the dramatic decrease in popular support for the war. Several NATO member states are hoping to see "an end to the ISAF mission within the next two years" reported a government advisor at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). An SWP associate's press article expressed that it is "not only allowed, it is even imperative" that the mission be "controversially discussed" in the parliament - even "the question of terminating the ISAF mission."[8] Last weekend, the Foreign Minister went public with concrete proposals, according to which the first Bundeswehr bases in Afghanistan should be evacuated in 2011.

Take Out the Bad Guys

Alternatives to both a continued occupation of Afghanistan as well as a complete withdrawal are being discussed in the United States. According to a recent article in one of the country's leading newspapers, one should "only do what can be done from offshore, using intelligence drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent Special Forces units" - continually making fierce incursions into Afghanistan without being durably stationed in the country and therefore without losses.[9] This concept is now being supported by high ranking members of the military. The former Commandant of the US Marine Corps, Charles Krulak, is advocating the creation of "hunter-killer teams" along the Afghan border. "These hunter-killer teams should be given minimal rules of engagement" explains Krulak and demands that "when they identify the bad guys, they need to be empowered to take them out."[10]

Make Ungovernable

Retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, of the US Army, formulated the basic concept even more clearly. A few years ago Peters wrote in the US military journal Joint Force Quarterly that the nations of the Middle East should be broken up and have the borders redrawn along ethnic affinities and religious communal lines. (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[11]) In the current issue of the journal, he advocates adapting the current strategy used by the Afghan insurgents - simply making the country ungovernable. The West could completely withdraw its troops, writes Peters, it would only have to continue striking the enemy and supporting the anti-Taliban Afghan factions to keep Afghanistan in a permanent chaos. "Allow Afghanistan to further disintegrate if that is its fate" concludes this officer, whose strategy is also being thoroughly discussed in German military circles. "Chart the Enemy. Our focus should be exclusively on his destruction."[12]

[1] Regierungserklärung von Bundeskanzlerin Merkel zu den aktuellen Ereignissen in Afghanistan; www.bundesregierung.de 08.09.2009
[2] Berlin sendet Protestnoten an Nato-Partner; Financial Times Deutschland 11.09.2009
[3] see also Die Bomben von Kunduz
[4] "Wir müssen mit äußerster Vorsicht vorgehen"; Deutschlandfunk 10.09.2009
[5] Berlin sendet Protestnoten an Nato-Partner; Financial Times Deutschland 11.09.2009
[6] Afghanischer Gouverneur lobt Bundeswehr; Spiegel Online 07.09.2009
[7] "Die Bombardierung war legitim"; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 09.09.2009
[8] Markus Kaim (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik): Kein sauberer Krieg; Handelsblatt 08.09.2009
[9] Time to Get Out of Afghanistan; The Washington Post 01.09.2009
[10] E-Mail von Charles Krulak vom 01.09.2009; smallwarsjournal.com/documents/krulakwill.pdf
[11] see also A Dirty Little Secret
[12] Ralph Peters: Trapping Ourselves in Afghanistan and Losing Focus on the Essential Mission; Joint Force Quarterly 3/2009