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The Daily Telegraph
September 24, 2001
German general fears a bloodbath
By Toby Helm in Berlin
THE head of the German equivalent of the SAS has
angered senior Nato officers by predicting a
"bloodbath" if special forces from allied nations move
into Afghanistan to try to hunt down Osama bin Laden.
In a deliberate call for caution, Brig Gen Reinhard
Gunzel, who commands the elite Kommando Spezialkrafte
(KSK), said success would be "almost impossible"
without severe and unacceptable losses to his special
troops and those of other allied nations.
Even if such a combined force did find bin Laden, this
would not mean victory, he said. "Behind him stand so
many fanatic followers that another one would
immediately replace him."
The 57-year-old brigadier general added: "Special
forces would come lightly armed and unprotected. There
would be a bloodbath. No special unit in the western
world could agree to such an action."
The Brig Gen insisted that troops with a "western
philosophy" and a will not to die would have "little
chance against men who are willing to give their lives
in a fight".
His remarks were first published, with his full
consent, on the internet by Spiegel Online news
service on Friday as rumours spread through Germany
that some KSK troops were about to be dispatched to
within striking distance of Afghanistan.
Last night, a spokesman for the German ministry of
defence confirmed that Brig Gen Gunzel had authorised
the interview, but declined to comment further.
Officials inside the ministry made clear, however,
that the comments had shocked and angered fellow
defence chiefs.
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