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  Dying for Kabul: Are the Germans Stationed in Afghanistan Cowards?

Dying for Kabul Are the Germans Stationed in Afghanistan Cowards?

By Susanne Koelbl

Part 3

Mazar-e-Sharif is booming. Construction and repair work is going on everywhere. Cars and horse-drawn carts make their way through the bazaar, where farmers sell fresh apples and tangerines. There's cheap make-up from China, men's suits from Tajikistan and colorful enamel houseware from Uzbekistan. Everything seems relatively peaceful.

The tasks within NATO -- a military allliance comprising 26 nations -- haven't been distributed fairly. But that's not the only thing that matters. The decisive question is what will become of Afghanistan. And there are good reasons for the Germans to insist on staying in the north of the country. Behind closed doors, during a secret meeting of the German parliament's foreign affairs committee, the German ambassador to Kabul, Hans-Ulrich Seidt, warned of a war in the south that "could not be won" militarily. The diplomat knows the region well and believes NATO is facing the prospect of a "war of attrition."

Afghanistan is still one of the poorest countries in the world. Ailing people still die on their way to the next hospital, more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from their village. Drug barons, warlords and feudal lords continue to oppress the farmers like serfs, and another winter of hunger is imminent. But "democracy" is a curse word these days -- synonymous with corruption, prostitution and anarchy. The level of disappointment with the Western liberators is enormous.

The plan to wage war and then reconstruct was "fast and cheap," says Joanna Nathan, an expert from the International Crisis Group with reference to the West's strategy for Afghanistan. Since then everything has become slow, difficult and expensive. The Germans are just one cog in a larger machine. They don't want to be made to pay for the failures of others.

The Pashtun member of parliament in the Serena Hotel's coffee shop gathers up the last crumbs of his Black Forest Cake from his porcelain plate. He just recently returned from the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Islamic fundamentalists make their way from there into the country from safe hideouts. Could a greater number of NATO soldiers in the south really beat back the Taliban -- at least until the Afghan military is strong enough to defend itself, as US ambassador Neumann would like? And are there really no more than 4,000 militant enemy combatants, as NATO's allied commander for Europe, James Jones, estimates?

The gray-haired Pashtun is about 60 -- a sign of wealth in this country, where average life expectancy is 43. He's already witnessing his fourth war. In 1973 he witnessed the coup against the liberal King Zahir Shah. As a young man, he fought the Soviets in the mountains. Then came the civil war, the Taliban -- and now the Americans.

"So who are these Taliban?" he asks. They're a poor people's movement, he says, held together by Islam, which promises them paradise in death since it can't offer them a good life. This army of holy warriors -- whose size he estimates is closer to 40,000 than to 4,000 -- is the most powerful weapon wielded by the regional powers, the member of parliament believes. Religious faith is the least important thing involved, he says, pointing out that interpretations of the Koran are constantly adapted to suit the political circumstances -- as when it's a question of using drug money to finance weapons acquisitions. Islamic law normally classifies drugs as haram, or sinful.

So what is really at stake? The tribal leaders are fighting for hegemony in strategically important areas, just as they did decades and even centuries ago -- but they're also fighting over incredibly large profits from smuggling and the drug trade. And the people are trying to find out who has more to offer -- the international community or the Taliban.

Afghanistan is still what it always was: an instrument wielded by moderately powerful neighboring countries like Pakistan, but also by India and Iran. Now old and new superpowers like the US, Russia and China have joined the game.

President Hamid Karzai wants to organize a jirga or assembly before the end of the year, inviting all major tribal representatives and people of honor in the country. Karzai, who comes from the Popalzai, a Pashtun tribe, will then try to end the war and negotiate peace -- with the tribal elders, but also Hekmatyar, the militia leader, and the Taliban. There's simply no alternative.

What part will the foreigners play then, besides the usual one of being financial donors and advisors? In the end the Afghans themselves will have to sort out how their country is ruled.

And the Germans in the north? It may be a little cowardly to stay up there and radiate a feeling of security, dig a few waterholes, calm down a few of the warlords and cultivate trees.

But it may also just be smart.

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