HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM --------------------------- http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5234588,00.html
Deutsche Welle February 10, 2010 German foreign minister calls Afghanistan 'armed conflict' German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has called the situation in Afghanistan an 'armed conflict' and asked Parliament for more troops to be sent. But he did not name a withdrawal date as part of the new strategy. In a speech to the German parliament on Wednesday, Guido Westerwelle called the mission in Afghanistan "an armed conflict within the parameters of international law" and pushed for more troops to be sent to Afghanistan. "We have to call things by the proper name, we owe it to those who are exposing themselves to danger on the front lines," the foreign minister said. Different rules for Germans Unlike the troops of other countries involved in the Afghan conflict, German military forces have until now been subjected to the civil penal code. Westerwelle's reclassification of the ongoing conflict has legal consequences for the actions of German soldiers, as well as for its potential criminal rating. "Simply continuing as we have is not an option," Westerwelle told representatives. "Neither is walking away and looking away." Escalating conflict Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg welcomed the new classification. Even if the final legal assessment remained subject to the judiciary, Westerwelle sent "an important political signal," he said. But the leader of the Social Democratic party, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned that the new self-assessment could contribute to the escalation of the situation in Afghanistan. On Tuesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved sending 850 additional troops to Afghanistan in response to a strategy change by NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan. That brings the total number of German troops in Afghanistan to more than 5,300. Germany and its allies agreed to send more troops to Afghanistan and put more focus on training the Afghans themselves at a meeting in London in January. Now Merkel needs the Bundestag or the lower house of parliament to approve the additional troops. .... =========================== Stop NATO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato Blog site: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ To subscribe, send an e-mail to: [email protected] or [email protected] Daily digest option available. ============================== --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST --^---------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bNM5nn.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [email protected] For Topica's complete suite of email marketing solutions visit: http://www.topica.com/?p=TEXFOOTER --^----------------------------------------------------------------
