Tageszeitung, 29 April 2015
Op-ed commentary by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, accompanying the Kunduz fighting article. He argues that Germany, at least indirectly, has contributed to the mistakes that have led to the Taleban’s latest advances: first by rejecting, over many years, that there was a war ongoing in Kunduz and Afghanistan which allowed the Taleban, “under the noses of the Bundeswehr and diverse intelligence service” to build up there structures in the province. Also, Germany’s concept to present the Bundeswehr as “aid workers in uniform” did not work out, as development projects might have improved the livelihoods of Afghans but proved to be unsustainable – and did not win over the population.
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This article was last updated on 9 Mar 2020