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Afghanistan: CDU foreign politician calls for armed drones for use by the Bundeswehr

2021-02-18T08:49:48.191Z


NATO forces are expected to stay in Afghanistan longer than planned. The Bundeswehr is also affected. The CDU politician Roderich Kiesewetter is now calling for the use of armed drones.


A "Heron TP" drone: So far the SPD has refused to arm the drone

Photo:?

Gil Cohen Magen / Reuters / REUTERS

In the event of the Bundeswehr's deployment in Afghanistan being extended, the CDU foreign politician Roderich Kiesewetter considers the use of armed drones to be essential.

"It is pointless to continue the Afghanistan mission without an armed drone, because we cannot muster too much strength for self-protection," said Kiesewetter on the radio station WDR 5. Only in this way are the soldiers and those of the allies ready to go there "under the most difficult conditions." to do their job.

A withdrawal of NATO troops from the country in the Hindu Kush would be the wrong approach for Kiesewetter.

He doubted that civil society was strong enough.

"If the international community leaves prematurely, women will suffer again, and the infrastructure will be destroyed again," he warned.

Escalation of violence is feared in military circles

The international troops should actually be withdrawn from Afghanistan by May 1st.

Now it looks like thousands of soldiers will stay in the crisis country beyond this date.

The defense ministers of the NATO countries had announced deliberations on how to proceed this Thursday.

Military circles fear that the violence in Afghanistan could escalate quickly in the coming months, as the Taliban must see the postponement of the NATO withdrawal as a provocation.

In all of last year the radical Islamic militia had not attacked the international troops, as this had been agreed in the peace talks with the USA.

However, when the new US administration announced that it would review the complete withdrawal planned for May 1, the Taliban immediately announced the resumption of war against all foreign troops.

Insiders take the threat seriously, as many field commanders have long rejected a political solution and want to bring the enemy, i.e. NATO, to their knees at the front.

The situation is particularly precarious for the Bundeswehr.

In internal papers, the military from the Department of Strategy and Operations warn that the Taliban are the strongest and most active militarily, especially in the north of the country, where the Germans are stationed.

On the security maps, Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz are always outlined with red circles, as it is particularly dangerous here.

In addition, the secret services warn that the Taliban are in a stronger position than before due to the relatively calm phase of the negotiations in Doha.

For one thing, they were able to increase their arsenal.

Much more dangerous, however, is that hundreds of experienced fighters and explosives experts have been released from prisons.

Some of them are already participating in bombings and ambushes again.

Last week, high-ranking military officials warned behind closed doors in the Defense Committee of the Bundestag that the Taliban could quickly resume their attacks on NATO troops and their camps such as the Bundeswehr camp in Mazar due to the suspension of withdrawal.

By then at the latest, the Bundeswehr should be able to defend itself robustly again.

So far, the Bundeswehr has only had unarmed reconnaissance drones on site

In the case of emergencies, the Bundeswehr has always relied on the US, which still has fighter jets and armed helicopters stationed in Afghanistan.

But after the USA had already reduced its troops to 2500 men, nobody knows exactly whether this protection is still fully guaranteed.

The Bundeswehr itself only has unarmed reconnaissance drones on site.

In December of last year, the SPD surprisingly refused to arm the »Heron TP« reconnaissance drone.

So far, the strategists of the Bundeswehr see no need to increase the contingent in Afghanistan.

For one thing, significantly fewer soldiers are currently stationed in northern Afghanistan than foreseen in the mandate.

In addition, the current mandate provides for a strategic reserve in dangerous situations that could be quickly dispatched from Germany if the situation worsened.

Icon: The mirror

mgb / height / dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-02-18

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