Discussion with the Youth Information Officer of the Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) about the German Security Policy and Afghanistan
The students of the bilingual course grade 13 had the opportunity to discuss about the German security policy with an officer of the Bundeswehr.
After a short presentation in which Mr. Röhlich pointed out in which respect the present situation is different from the situation during the Cold War he talked about the hazards for our security, international terrorism, intrastate and regional conflicts and demographic and ecological and economic problems. Apart from that he mentioned that the implosion of the Soviet Union and the problem of migration have led to a completely new dimension of security policy.
From that he derived the new duties of the Bundeswehr: They can be summarized as follows: Peacekeeping missions, protection against global threats, promotion of democracy and human rights, sustainable development and cooperative security.
Finally he discussed with the students about the Afghanistan mission of the Bundeswehr and showed why it is so difficult to stabilize that country. One reason is the tribal culture in Afghanistan, another one the weak economy and the weak police force. In addition the fact that Afghanistan has got no democratic tradition at all has to be mentioned. Furthermore the infrastructure of the country is very poor and the people there still suffer from powerful warlords, which still dominate certain areas of the country.
Consequently the role of the Bundeswehr has changed considerably. The soldiers are mainly concerned about improving the infrastructure and in helping to develop democracy in Afghanistan. The mandate given by the German Bundestag only allows the soldiers to make use of their weapons to defend themselves.
