GERMAN POLITICAL REACTIONS TO THE PRESIDENT'S ANNOUNCEMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 001527 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MARR NATO GM AF PK SUBJECT: GERMAN POLITICAL REACTIONS TO THE PRESIDENT'S ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE WAY FORWARD IN AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN REFS: A) STATE 123222, B) BERLIN 1507 BERLIN 00001527 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: German politicians across the political spectrum welcomed and endorsed President Obama's plan for the way forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan, seeing their own views largely confirmed in his speech. However, the opposition SPD and Greens criticized the CDU-CSU/FDP coalition government for declining to reveal its plans for possible additional contributions until after the January 28 Afghanistan Conference in London. Both the SPD and Greens emphasized civilian reconstruction and the build-up and training of the Afghan police over the possible deployment of additional German troops. The Left Party, which polls only about 10 percent nationwide, was alone in criticizing the U.S. way forward, arguing that deploying more soldiers would just exacerbate current problems. END SUMMARY. MERKEL: STICKS TO POSITION ¶2. (SBU) After her telephone conversation with President Obama yesterday, Chancellor Merkel reiterated her position publicly that the government would wait until after the January 28 London Conference to decide "whether and if so, what" Germany would further contribute to the international effort in Afghanistan. In the face of uncertainty over the U.S. strategy and the Afghan presidential election results, the government decided in early November to seek only a simple roll-over of the parliamentary mandate for Bundeswehr participation in ISAF when it came up for renewal this month. The Bundestag vote on the renewed mandate is scheduled for December 3. The current troop ceiling of 4,500 will remain unchanged. Before the December 3 vote, Merkel is especially keen to avoid giving any indication that her government is already considering a possible troop increase. CDU: DECLINES TO PLAY THE "NUMBERS GAME" ¶3. (SBU) The foreign and defense policy spokesmen from Merkel's Christian Democratic Union also supported the planned U.S. troop surge, noting that it would provide a window of opportunity during which the international community and the Afghan government could put the country on a path toward sustainable stability. They argued for focusing efforts on civilian construction and the build-up of the Afghan national security forces. Like Merkel, they referred to the January Afghanistan conference as key for determining possible additional troop contributions, declining to participate in a "numbers game" before then. They referred to the announcement last week that the German Development Ministry would increase its assistance for Afghanistan by an additional 52 million Euros beyond the 92 million Euros budgeted for 2009 (ref B) as showing that Germany was ready to do its part. FM WESTERWELLE: SPEECH CONFIRMS VIEW ¶4. (SBU) In a press conference following the President's speech, FM Westerwelle (Free Democratic Party) refused to discuss additional German military contributions, arguing that a debate on troop numbers at this point was counterproductive. He said that there would not be a "European and German position" until after that January 28 conference. "The U.S. Government does not expect an answer from us before we have spoken with our Allies and the Afghan government at the Afghanistan conference," said Westerwelle. While declining to discuss the possibility of increasing troop levels, Westerwelle said Germany was prepared to do more in building up and training the Afghan police forces. "That is the only way that Afghans can guarantee security for themselves, and the only way there can be a transfer of responsibility," he said. "No one wants this mission to go on forever." Westerwelle said he had emphasized since becoming foreign minister in late October that Germany had to pursue a strategy that would allow German withdrawal within the current legislative period (i.e., by 2013): "I really feel confirmed in this view from what the President said in his speech." SPD: CRITICIZES DELAY IN DECIDING CONTRIBUTIONS ¶5. (SBU) The Social Democratic Party defense and foreign policy spokesmen welcomed the President's speech and called on the government to inform the Bundestag about its plans for additional contributions right away rather than waiting until the January conference. They confirmed that the SPD put a priority on civilian reconstruction and attributed strategic significance to the build-up and training of the Afghan national security forces. They warned against restricting the discussion on the way ahead in Afghanistan to just troop increases. BERLIN 00001527 002.2 OF 002 GREENS: PUSH FOR DRAMATIC INCREASE IN CIVILIAN AID ¶6. (SBU) The Greens foreign policy spokeswoman also argued that with the U.S. plan on the table, it was time for the German government to provide a concrete plan and time schedule for ending the Afghanistan deployment and turning over responsibility to the Afghans. She said that a troop increase, like the one proposed by President Obama, made sense in certain areas of the country, like the Pakistan border region. However, she thought that the arming of tribal leaders in other areas would be counterproductive because it would weaken the Afghan state. She called for a "civilian development offensive" by dramatically increasing development funds and immediately deploying at least another 500 police trainers. LEFT PARTY: PREDICTABLY CRITICAL ¶7. (U) The Left Party, which has consistently opposed the Afghanistan deployment, predictably said the U.S. decision to send more troops would just lead to more fighting and did not really represent a strategy.