Afghanistan Peace CampaignAfghanistan Analysts Network
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The interim report of the Parliamentary Enquete-Kommission (Study Commission) tasked with examining the country’s military and civilian activities in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021 is a far-reaching attempt to overcome two decades of German government window-dressing which belied the real situation in Afghanistan and which led to ultimate failure. The report is a critical probe into the strategic and political framework of Germany’s Afghanistan policy and the activities of its institutions involved there. It points to gaping holes in German institutions responsible for dealing with international crises, including, overall, successive governments’ failures to formulate (and implement) a coherent Afghanistan strategy. The authors of the report fault: (a) core ministries as unwilling to play ball with each other, (b) nearly the entire governing class for throwing sand in the eyes of parliament and the electorate on the mission’s (lack of) progress and (c) for detrimental shortfalls in mobilising sufficient resources, particularly during early, key periods, and for crucial parts of Germany’s mission (such as policing, democratisation and support to Afghan civil society).
While some of its general conclusions are stark, they are hardly surprising. Much had long been voiced by critics – and dismissed by the same political circles who, over almost two decades, had successfully blocked a full, independent and public investigation into Germany’s increasingly failing performance with regard to Afghanistan.
At the same time, the report’s authors do try to avoid a fully damning verdict, save Germany’s face, at least partially, and keep options open for future missions abroad. They state:
Even if, in retrospect, the operation in Afghanistan was not a success as a whole, there were partial successes that contributed to an improvement in living conditions until the Taleban came back to power in the summer of 2021 … German efforts to build the economy and development cooperation were only partially able to create structures that sustainably improved the lives of the population [for example] in the areas of basic services for the population (access to water, basic education, health services), especially in the north [of Afghanistan] and in Kabul.
That Afghans had 20 years of better livelihoods, more freedoms and the hope that Afghanistan might finally become peaceful and stable after four decades of war is factually correct. At least for this author, however, the emphasis on short-term successes sounds cynical given the circumstances under which a large portion of the Afghan population is currently forced to live following the Taleban’s return to power: their livelihoods collapsed without even the theoretical chance to have a say in how their country is shaping and they were left behind by the largest coalition – military or otherwise – since World War II.
Thus, the Study Commission’s report tries to follow a path between being critical of Germany and saving some German face. It indicates that Germany continues to grapple with establishing a fully realistic picture of its Afghanistan ‘mission’ and that the German political class is not ready yet to fully admit to the total failure of its engagement in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021.
The Commission’s final report, which is slated to be finished and put to a vote in the Bundestag (parliament) before the next general elections are held in late summer or autumn 2025, will show whether there will be progress on this front. It will not help anyone in or out of government, not to mention Afghanistan, if the desire to protect Germany’s image and the German political class means misconceptions and mistakes continue to be covered up or minimised.
Edited by Jelena Bjelica, Roxanna Shapour and Kate Clark
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This article was last updated on 5 Aug 2024