German Cabinet Renews Afghan Mission, Will Exit ‘Responsibly’
This article is for subscribers only.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet backed the extension of Germany’s military mission in Afghanistan yesterday, while setting a timetable for troop withdrawals in the face of public unease over the nearly 10-year-long war.
Germany, which has the third-largest military contingent in Afghanistan after the U.S. and U.K., is confident that it will be able to “begin the transfer of responsibility for the security and safety of the Afghan people in parts of the northern region to the Afghan forces,” Deputy Foreign Minister Werner Hoyer said in an interview in the Bloomberg Washington Bureau yesterday.