BERLIN: Germany鈥檚 leaders paid tribute Wednesday to its troops that served over nearly 20 years in Afghanistan.
The country鈥檚 president said the German answer to the mission鈥檚 disappointing end must not be 鈥渞esignation and retreat鈥� from global affairs.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other top officials joined a final roll call for the troops at the Defense Ministry in Berlin. A military tattoo in front of the Reichstag parliament building was planned Wednesday evening.
More than 150,000 German troops served in Afghanistan between the beginning of 2002 and their final withdrawal this summer. Germany was in recent years the second-biggest troop provider after the United States. Fifty-nine German troops died in Afghanistan missions over the years.
Germany鈥檚 military, the Bundeswehr, brought home its last troops from northern Afghanistan, long the focus of the country鈥檚 deployment, in late June.
After the Taliban took control of the country, Germany was one of the nations that participated in the hectic evacuation of Western nationals and endangered Afghans from Kabul airport. Germany鈥檚 part of that airlift ended on Aug. 26 after the country鈥檚 military evacuated more than 5,300 people, including over 4,000 Afghans. Many more remained behind.
鈥淭here is no doubt, no ifs and buts about one thing, dear soldiers: the Bundeswehr fulfilled its assignment,鈥� Steinmeier told the troops. 鈥淥ur country is proud of you.鈥�
Looking ahead, he added, 鈥淕ermany deserves a security policy that draws lessons from 20 years of Afghanistan.鈥�
Steinmeier, who was then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder鈥檚 chief of staff when the deployment started and later served twice as Merkel鈥檚 foreign minister, said it was right to go into Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the US
鈥淭here were doubts, and often harsh criticism, but there also were always good reasons why we stayed in Afghanistan,鈥� he said.
鈥淔or me, it is clear that the fall of Kabul was a turning point,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e are standing at a crossroads that forces us to consider self-critically our responsibility in the world, our possibilities and their limits.鈥�
鈥淚 hope that we don鈥檛 look back at this crossroads in 20 years and say that resignation and retreat was the answer to Afghanistan 鈥� it would be the wrong lesson,鈥� Steinmeier said. 鈥淏ecause we Germans don鈥檛 live isolated on an island 鈥� even less so in 2021 than 2001.鈥�