The need in Afghanistan did not come as a surprise to the German government: the ministers have apparently been arguing since April - and ignored a request by Angela Merkel.
Berlin - The Taliban's advance on Kabul apparently took the German government by surprise.
A political flop that now puts countless local workers in danger and necessitates a risky Bundeswehr mission.
Angela Merkel's ministers recently referred to incorrect assessments by the secret services and friendly governments around the world.
But the situation is apparently more complex: According to documents that have now become known, the cabinet had been debating rescue measures for local forces in Afghanistan for months - the ministers also ignored a request made by the Chancellor.
And the environment of the much criticized Federal Intelligence Service is now defending itself against allegations: The late start of the evacuation was recently caused by a missing decision by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD), it is said.
Afghanistan: dispute between local workers in Merkel's cabinet since April?
Logs leaked
According to a report by
Spiegel
, the German government argued for months about how to deal with local Afghan workers. This is reported by the news magazine, citing internal meeting minutes. On April 29, officials from the Ministries of the Interior, Defense, Development and Foreign Affairs met for a meeting on the so-called local staff procedure. The defense ministry representative said that 1,500 local staff could apply for membership in the next two months.
However, the majority of these people have no Afghan passports or other identity documents, the ministry representative said.
The Federal Foreign Office then suggested that residence permits for local staff should not be issued in a lengthy process before they leave the country, but rather only after they land in Germany.
According to the minutes of the meeting, the Federal Ministry of the Interior rejected this, as the
mirror
further reported.
There should be “no all-inclusive solution without an individual risk assessment”.
A mandatory security check must also be "completed before entry".
Corresponding allegations against Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) were already loud on Wednesday.
Afghanistan: Merkel apparently pushed for evacuation as early as July - ministers said no
The idea of taking the local staff out of the country by charter flights was also rejected at the meeting.
The defense ministry representative said it was sending a “wrong signal” - according to information from the broadcaster n-tv, a State Secretary from the Foreign Office made a similar statement in May.
According to the report, the development ministry warned that “no uncertainty” should arise in the entire process in Afghanistan, as otherwise “a chain reaction could be triggered” among the local staff of the ministry “as well as in an international context”.
Although German Chancellor Angela Merkel had already pushed for the rental of charter aircraft in mid-July, this solution was again rejected by the departments involved,
Spiegel
reported
on.
According to the ministries' assessment of the availability of scheduled flights, there is currently no need for charter measures, "said the minutes of a ministerial meeting on July 30th.
Afghanistan: Maas heavily criticized, ex-BND boss counters allegations - "Minister has not yet decided"
The cabinet turmoil may have dragged on for much longer - until the Taliban marched into Kabul.
For example, the former BND boss August Hanning portrayed it in a reply to a scolding from Foreign Minister Maas in a conversation with the
picture
. Maas was "clearly going too far," said the ex-secret service agent.
"The executive ambassador and the security guards in the embassy in Kabul - including the BND - had requested an urgent evacuation on the Friday and Saturday before the fall of Kabul," said Hanning.
The answer from the Foreign Office was "according to the latest, confirmed information": "Nothing can be done yet, because the minister has not yet made a decision."
The BND had provided correct assessments of the situation, but politicians made the wrong analyzes, Hanning said. According to another
Spiegel
report
, the foreign secret service issued an urgent warning against a return of the Taliban to power in December 2020 under the catchphrase “Emirate 2.0”. The ex-secret service agent accused Maas of “biting fear” - and trying to distract from his own failures.
Bundestag politicians did not assess the situation so clearly after a meeting of the parliamentary control body on Thursday.
“The BND has been completely misjudged when it comes to Afghanistan.
There can be no doubt about that, ”said FDP parliamentary group vice-chairman Stephan Thomae of the AFP news agency.
"The analysis of the errors at the BND are no relief for the federal government," he added.
(
fn / AFP
)
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