Merkel on Afghanistan: “This new reality is bitter”

Chancellor Merkel defended the late decision to evacuate aid workers and local staff from Afghanistan. In the Bundestag she spoke of a “dilemma”. But Germany did not go a separate way.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced the end of the airlift to Afghanistan “in a few days”. However, this should not mean that afterwards, above all, former local workers and other people in need in Afghanistan would not be protected, said Merkel in her government statement to the Bundestag. This is being worked on “at all levels”.

In her speech, the Chancellor spoke of a difficult decision about the withdrawal of local staff. “Let’s imagine for a moment that Germany had not only started with the withdrawal of the Bundeswehr in the spring, but also with the withdrawal of employees and local staff from German aid organizations. From the other side one should have faced the accusation of abandoning people in Afghanistan. “Both perspectives are justified,” said Merkel.

“Do not shift responsibility”

At the time, the federal government saw very good reasons for continuing to help the people in Afghanistan after the troops had withdrawn, at least in terms of development cooperation – “very specific basic aid from maternity wards to water and electricity supplies,” said Merkel. For this one was still dependent on local staff, many of whom were willing to continue working in Afghanistan. “I do not want to shift the responsibility for the decisions made on these people and their attitude towards help.”

In retrospect, it is easy to analyze and evaluate the situation. “Knowing everything exactly afterwards and foreseeing it exactly is relatively effortless,” said Merkel. But the decision had to be made in the situation at the time. Now concentrate “with all your might” on the evacuation flights.

Speed ​​of development underestimated

Merkel called the developments of the last few days “terrible”. For many people in Afghanistan they are “one big tragedy”. The Taliban “is now a reality in Afghanistan and many people in Afghanistan are very afraid,” the Chancellor said. “This new reality is bitter.” Your government will not “shy away from” also holding talks with the radical Islamic Taliban. “Our goal must be to preserve as much as possible of the changes we have made in Afghanistan over the past 20 years.”

The developments are also bitter for the allies who have fought here for years for liberal structures and against terrorism. The Chancellor explained that it had always been clear “that the entire operation literally stands and falls with the attitude of the militarily strongest in the alliance – the USA.”

The international community also expected that there would be fights with the strengthened Taliban. However, one was surprised at the speed with which the Afghan security forces gave up their resistance – or that they would not even take up the resistance in the first place. That accelerated again the moment the political leadership of Afghanistan fled the country. “We all obviously underestimated the speed of development. This also applies to Germany.”

Merkel said the Bundeswehr had flown more than 4,600 people from Afghanistan so far. There are people from a total of 45 nations, almost half of them women. Merkel emphasized that there was no special route for Germany in Afghanistan. Everything is done in close coordination with the allies.