German soldiers on patrol near Mazar-e-Sharif this April. A new reports raises doubts about whether troops will be able to leave the country on time. DAPD
Classified Report: Reality Contradicts Plans for Afghan Withdrawal -- Spiegel Online
Berlin maintains that Afghanistan is on the right track for German troops to withdraw by the end of 2014 as planned. But a classified report by the German foreign intelligence agency paints a different picture.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai likes to tell the West what it wants to hear. "We will fight corruption with great determination," he says. Or: "We will relentlessly strive for good governance."
Such messages are well received in the West, because they correspond with the rosy picture that Western officials like to relay to the public themselves. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, for example, has become somewhat of a master at this game. "We are on course to realize the withdrawal of international and German combat troops by the end of 2014," he recently said, while also pointing out how important it is to integrate former Taliban fighters into Afghan society.
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Update #1: Germans pessimistic about Afghanistan -- The Australian/AFP
Update #2: Afghan situation 'worse than government says' -- Local.de
My Comment: I guess the Germans are also not immune to political interference when it comes to what is actually happening in Afghanistan.
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