German minister says U.S. troops in Iraq ill-prepared
reuters.com
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Defence Minister Peter Struck said on Saturday American soldiers were inadequately prepared for their current Iraq mission and need "nation building" training to help the country on the road to democracy.
While lauding the battlefield abilities of the U.S. military in Iraq, Struck said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag newspaper that American forces in Iraq did not have the training and were not doing enough to prepare the country for democracy.
"The U.S. soldiers are good combat troops but are not sufficiently prepared for the tasks associated with 'nation-building' -- setting up democratic and economic structures," Struck said.
He said German soldiers sent to Afghanistan on a peacekeeping mission get special training. There are about 2,000 German soldiers in the 5,700-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
"They are clearly prepared for (nation-building)," Struck said. "Our soldiers that go to Kabul are schooled about the mentality and history of the country, and also know the differences between the different population groups."
A total of 312 U.S. soldiers have been killed in action since U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq in March to oust Saddam Hussein, 197 of them in guerrilla attacks since President George W. Bush declared major combat over on May 1. Washington blames the attacks on Saddam supporters and foreign Islamic militants.
Struck also said German troops would probably stay in Afghanistan beyond the scheduled end of the mission. "We will not be able to leave next year -- there is no end in sight."
He also criticised a U.S. move to bar Iraq war opponents from reconstruction contracts while asking them to write off its debts. European leaders have urged the U.S. to reconsider the decision which opened a new transatlantic rift on Iraq.
"This was not a wise decision," Struck said. He said he was optimistic a resolution could be found and welcomed Bush's move to dispatch former Secretary of State James Baker to Europe to discuss Iraq and restructuring its $120 billion of foreign debt.
"James Baker has an outstanding name in Germany with his work in helping Germany reunite," Struck said. "My relations with my counterpart Donald Rumsfeld have also normalised. We're on the way towards a normalisation."
Struck pointed out that even though Germany opposed the Iraq war, German soldiers have filled in for U.S. troops by guarding American bases in Germany and that there are now 2,500 German soldiers protecting U.S. installations.
"We're taking a big load off of the Americans here in Germany," Struck said.
He said he believed Germany's contributions were not going unnoticed by the U.S. State Department, which he said was also apparently not pleased by the decision on Iraq contracts. |
