Volume 27, Issue 10, october 7, 2004

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Germany Opposes US Plan in Afghanistan

At a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Romania on Wednesday, Germany objected to Washington's proposal for NATO forces to take over the US military mission in Afghanistan as part of next year's reorganization efforts.

German Defense Minister Peter Struck, who met NATO counterparts including US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for informal talks in Romania, told reporters he opposed the proposal to integrate the NATO peacekeeping force in Afghanistan within the 18,000 strong US-led combat mission fighting remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda.

NATO's mandate in Afghanistan is to stabilize the country, not to fight international terrorism he said. "The German government sees its mandate as protecting and helping, not fighting," Struck added. "Therefore, we are against a merger of the two mandates."

Nicholas Burns, the US ambassador to NATO, said the aim of the United States is to combine the two missions under a single alliance commander, possibly as early as 2005.

"It's a very complicated issue," Burns said. "That's the direction the alliance has been heading for many months now," he added and hinted to reporters that the proposal would find several supporters in the near future.

New role for NATO?

NATO is in need of a reorganization in Afghanistan, Burns said. The transatlantic alliance has been in command of the 8,000-strong International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan since last year, but has struggled to drum up the troop numbers needed to expand the UN-mandated force outside of Kabul.

The alliance's weakness was particularly evident in the run-up to last week's presidential elections when NATO members only reluctantly relented to supplying more troops. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said although the alliance had succeeded in guaranteeing a peaceful election environment, there was still a good deal more to do in Afghanistan.

The United States, which provides the biggest number of troops in the war-torn country, has been pushing its European allies to commit more resources and to expand into western Afghanistan, where war lords and armed factions of the Taliban still hold sway.

While ISAF is primary involved in peacekeeping and reconstruction efforts, the separate US mission "Operation Enduring Freedom" includes heavily armed units fighting suspected militants and terrorists, notably on the Pakistan border in the southeastern part of the country. Several NATO members have criticized the fact that the two forces operate independently of one another.

German support for combat not likely

Struck said Germany generally supported the NATO initiative to increase its troops and expand its area of deployment, but he doubted his country's parliament would support a change of its mandate to allow its troops to take on a combat mission. With some 2,500 soldiers, Germany is the largest contributor to the ISAF peacekeeping mission.

"I will not accept that Germany continues to be heavily engaged in Afghanistan while others, despite their pledges, have held back from doing the same," Struck told the gathering of 26 defense ministers

"I do not believe that the German government will be prepared to deploy its current 2,500 soldiers in a fight against terrorism. We would prefer to continue using them for reconstruction efforts," he concluded

Kaplan Trial Tests Turkey

Radical Islamic cleric Metin Kaplan has been extradited to Turkey, where he faces high treason charges. The trial is seen as a test of Turkey's EU readiness.

Metin Kaplan, the "Caliph of Cologne," was brought to the freshly renovated Bayrampasa prison in Istanbul on Wednesday. He is to stand trial on high treason charges for planning a terror attack on the Turkish capital Ankara.

Turkey's Justice Minister assured the press that Kaplan would receive a fair trial. The trial is seen by many as a test of whether Turkey's updated court system -- once synonymous with torture tactics, human rights abuses and rigged verdicts -- now befits a country seeking entry into the European Union. As a result, Kaplan will most likely be handled with kid gloves for fear of a negative effect Turkey's EU candidacy.

Kaplan will be tried by one of the new special criminal courts established under reforms requested by the European Union. They replace the state security court system which had charged Kaplan in absentia.

'Great gesture'

The Turkish press had a laid-back, if proud, reaction to Kaplan's arrival.

"Special Delivery from Germany," was the tongue-in-cheek headline in the mainstream Hürriyet newspaper. For its part, conservative Aksam newspaper saw Kaplan's return as a vote of confidence, referring to the "great gesture from Germany to Turkey as it tries to enter the EU."

Kaplan's arrival in Turkey followed months of legal wrangling aimed at extraditing him from Germany in connection with a 1998 plot to crash an explosives-laden aircraft into the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Ankara, where political and military leadership were gathered for national day ceremonies. Atatürk was the founder of the modern Turkish state.

A second allegation accused Kaplan of plotting another attack to seize a prominent mosque in Istanbul and then fight "to the death" with security forces. He faces charges of "trying to destroy the constitutional order by armed force," which could bring a life sentence if upheld.

Kaplan had sought to stay in Germany, arguing that he would face torture in Turkey.

Law is in charge

Following his arrival in Turkey on Wednesday, Kaplan spent several hours before a judge. In handcuffs and without his clerical garb, he was formally charged with high treason. He refused to stand up before the judge, claiming he was tired and felt unwell.

He has also so far refused to enter a plea; his lawyer has seven days to do so.

The Turkish government has said it will leave the Kaplan case entirely in the hands of the legal system. While the current government of Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan (photo) originates in a similar Islamic milieu as Kaplan, it has long distanced itself from radicals, Islam expert Rusen Cakir told German public broadcaster SWR.

He added that Kaplan now only has marginal support in Turkey.

"Even when Metin Kaplan's father Cemalettin was alive, his organization had adherents here, but they couldn't really find a following at home," Cakir said. "Since Metin took over leadership from his father, the group has become even more marginalized."

It remains to be seen when the treason trial will start; his next hearing is set for Dec. 20. If guilty, Kaplan would likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
It remains to be seen whether the prosecution will rely on old confessions that are said have resulted from torture.

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