Chancellor Angela Merkel has guaranteed a complete investigation of the NATO airstrike last Friday in the vicinity of Kunduz. She expressed her deep regret at any innocent victims. At the same time, however, she underscored the fact that there is no alternative to the mission in Afghanistan. The Chancellor today delivered a government statement in the German Bundestag in response to the airstrike and subsequent criticism.
 

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The second presidential elections in Afghanistan are a good time for the international conference, Merkel said.

(© BPA; by Steins)

"Every innocent life lost in Afghanistan is one too many,” she said, "and we mourn every one of them”. She promised that no stone would be left unturned by the investigation.
 
Equally though, Angela Merkel refuses to pass any premature judgement on the German Armed Forces. "I roundly reject any such judgement from whatever quarter, at home or abroad,” she stated. Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier too condemned premature judgements.
 
On Friday NATO aircraft bombed two fuel tankers that had been hijacked by Taliban fighters. A German ISAF officer gave the order for the airstrike. It is not yet clear how many deaths and casualties resulted. Shortly after the Chancellor’s statement, NATO reported that civilians had been among the victims.

Afghanistan mission essential

 
Afghanistan used to be a hotbed of international terrorism. It was the breeding ground of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Subsequent terrorist attacks in Madrid and London cost many more innocent lives. Germany too is a target of terrorists.
 
"So nobody should confuse cause and effect. The mission in Afghanistan is our response to terror. Terrorism came from Afghanistan, not the other way round,” declared Angela Merkel.
 
The Chancellor thanked the members of the armed forces who risk their lives daily in Afghanistan. She also thanked the civilian aid workers who are helping make life there worth living again.
 
Germany is concentrating on reconstruction. Where military actions are essential, civilian casualties should be avoided, said Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Along with the Afghan government, the aim, he continued, is to "win the hearts of the people.” 

UN conference on the future of Afghanistan

 
Chancellor Merkel spoke of the prospects of withdrawing German troops from Afghanistan. Last Sunday, along with the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, she proposed an international conference on Afghanistan, to be held by the end of the year.
 
The conference would draw up a "coordinated hand-over strategy,” with the aim of ensuring that Afghanistan can provide for its own security without once more reverting to a hotbed of international terrorism.
 
The second presidential elections in Afghanistan are a good time for this conference, Angela Merkel declared. With the new government, the international community can agree "a new quality of accepting ownership and responsibility.” She visualises a transitional period of five years.