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Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the commander of the Bundeswehr evacuation mission in Afghanistan, Jens Arlt
Photo:
Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
The commander of the Bundeswehr evacuation mission in Afghanistan, Jens Arlt, was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on Friday. Arlt had "carried out the military evacuation under exceptional danger in an exemplary manner," said Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. At the same time, he warned that all "painful questions" in connection with the Afghanistan mission must be answered "honestly and thoroughly". This is also a task for the new federal government and the new Bundestag.
Arlt had "led the Bundeswehr soldiers through two extremely tough weeks" in August and brought them all back home unharmed.
Steinmeier, who awarded Arlt the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany with the Order of Merit, 1st Class, “represents and at the same time stands for this successful mission and for the almost 500 soldiers of the evacuation association,” said Steinmeier.
The 52-year-old Arlt previously held various positions in the Ministry of Defense and in the Special Forces Command (KSK).
He completed several missions abroad for the German Armed Forces, including in Afghanistan and Kosovo.
Before the medal was awarded, Steinmeier spoke to soldiers who were involved in the evacuation mission.
After the radical Islamic Taliban came to power, thousands of foreigners and vulnerable Afghans were flown from Kabul airport in a dramatic international operation.
"Together with our allies and partners, first and foremost the USA, more than 120,000 vulnerable people were flown out," said Steinmeier.
The German evacuation operation in Kabul and the Uzbek capital Tashkent "brought more than 5,300 people from 45 countries to safety under the most difficult conditions."
Afghans, Germans and allies have been saved.
"People whose lives were acutely threatened under the rule of the Taliban, because they had worked for German agencies over the past two decades - or because they claimed the democratic rights of the Afghan constitution and were therefore on death lists."
Not all people could be saved
It is known "that by far not all of the people on our lists have reached the rescue flights," said Steinmeier.
"Many Germans worry about these people - and they rightly expect that our country will continue to look for ways and possibilities to fulfill its duty to protect these people as well."
More than 150,000 members of the Bundeswehr served in Afghanistan.
Many asked "difficult and bitter questions" about why it had not been possible to build a stable political and social order in Afghanistan.
Or whether the suffering and the effort were in vain and whether the withdrawal of international troops, as it happened, was correct.
Shared responsibility for human tragedy
"I don't have any simple, quick answers," said Steinmeier.
"One thing is clear: with the fall of Kabul, we experienced a human tragedy for which we share responsibility." to rethink our responsibility in the world in a new and self-critical manner «.
"First and foremost, we should not answer all the painful questions quickly, but honestly and thoroughly," said the Federal President.
"But we mustn't suppress them." Germany deserves "a security policy that draws lessons from twenty years of Afghanistan."
mfh / AFP
