German Radio, German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung has called for a rethink of US military tactics in Afghanistan after US coalition operations caused a spate of civilian casualties.
“We need to make sure that in future operations don't take place in this way,” Jung told reporters on Monday in Brussels where he was meeting with his EU counterparts. “We don't want the population against us,” he said. “We have to prevent that.”
Jung said the killing of civilians antagonized the local population and jeopardized international efforts to win the “hearts and minds” of ordinary Afghans.
“It is precisely the wrong tactic,” the Defense Minister said. Jung added that he had raised the issue with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Jung emphasized he was referring to the US anti-terrorist operation, Enduring Freedom, not action by the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.
NATO is leading a force of some 36,000 troops from 37 nations in Afghanistan which is trying to extend the political reach of President Hamid Karzai's central government to more lawless outlying regions.
The US-led coalition is a separate force around 10,000-strong which, while it does coordinate with the NATO-led contingent, is mainly involved in “anti-terror” operations.
US-led coalition air strikes in southern Afghanistan recently killed at least 21 Afghan civilians in a bombing campaign against Taliban militants hiding in the Sangin district of Helmand province.
This comes on top of reports that nearly 60 people were killed in US air strikes late last month.
EU police mission
Meanwhile, EU defense ministers agreed on Monday to plans for the deployment of 160 police and law enforcement officers to Afghanistan. The operation, which marks an expansion in the bloc's global security role, will be launched in mid-June and will focus on providing training to the Afghan police force.
“This mission represents a major contribution to establishing a professional police sector in Afghanistan,” EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in a statement.
The EU mission will take over from a German police training scheme already operational in Afghanistan. Under the plan, the EU mission would be based in Kabul, but also would have officers in regional commands across the country.
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