US to provide Germany with helicopters for Afghan mission - Summary

Berlin - The United States pledged on Wednesday to provide Germany with combat helicopters in northern Afghanistan, during a visit to Berlin by the top commander of NATO's Afghanistan mission, US General Stanley McChrystal.

After meeting with McChrystal, German Defense Minister Karl- Theodor zu Guttenberg said in a statement that the US would provide "capabilities in the weeks and months to come where we have deficits," including Medevac helicopters and helicopter gunships.

McChrystal's visit comes as Germany is reeling from the recent loss of seven German soldiers killed in two separate attacks by Taliban insurgents in the Kunduz region of northern Afghanistan.

The US is to increase its troops in northern Afghanistan to approximately 5,000, almost matching the number of German forces based in the region. Their contingent is to include between 45 and 70 helicopters, some of which will be equipped for combat.

Guttenberg did not specify for how long the extra US capabilities would be made available. The German mission is operating largely without helicopters at present.

The defense minister said it was "important that, in the coming weeks and months, this capability gap be closed as quickly as possible," adding that the US would assist Germany "as long as we are not in a position to protect ourselves."

McChrystal thanked Germany, which has the third largest troop presence with the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, for its military contribution.

"The role being played by German forces in the north (of Afghanistan) and the headquarters continues with distinction, and I applaud their service and their sacrifices," the NATO commander said.

For the first time in modern German history, the country on Wednesday awarded foreign soldiers the Cross of Honor, one of the highest Bundeswehr, or military, tributes.

Guttenberg presented the award to 14 US medics who tended to the fallen German soldiers during the deadly clashes earlier this month.

Earlier Guttenberg and McChrystal laid wreaths at the defense ministry in honor of the soldiers killed in battle.

On Thursday, Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to give a government statement in parliament on the Afghan mission, which is deeply unpopular in Germany.

On the same day, Guttenberg is also scheduled to face a parliamentary inquiry into the aftermath of a German-commanded airstrike last year, in which many civilians were amongst the estimated 142 dead and injured.

Earlier in the week, the commander of the airstrike, Colonel Georg Klein, was absolved of any wrongdoing, when prosecutors ended their inquiry into the circumstances of the attack on two tankers hijacked by the Taliban.

Both Merkel and Guttenberg have raised legal questions in recent months by acknowledging that the armed conflict in Afghanistan could be described as "war" in common parlance.

The government would legally have to seek renewed parliamentary approval for a mandate to wage war in Afghanistan. The engagement is currently defined in Germany as an "armed conflict."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/319881,us-to-provide-germany-with-helicopters-for-afghan-mission--summary.html.