Planners of Germany's Afghanistan participation have grown wiser

[Skybird]

Several high ranking poltiical and milutary actors who formed - and once agreed - to Germany's maze-like Afghanistan mission, have revised their thoughts and decisions they had made almost ten years ago, from defense ministers to high ranking milizary representatives.

Nobody seems to think anymore there will be any positive outcome to this adventure. And in principle, they just admit this: "we have been fools".

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...700745,00.html

"One year, then we'd be back out, that's what we thought back then," Struck says, poking at his fish, before adding, "We thoroughly deceived ourselves."
(...)
Unnoticed by the general public, Stützle gave a talk at the East-West Forum Gut Gödelitz this January that contained a minor sensation. "Afghanistan -- the Failed Intervention" was the title of his paper, and the text began with the words, "The military intervention in Afghanistan was and remains a grave error."
(...)
The security expert is unimpressed by US General McChrystal's new strategy. "It follows the principal that if aspirin doesn't work, we'll use extra strength aspirin," Stützle says. "Policy can't be made dependent on the strategy of a single general."