Maas’ “confession”: We did not predict the speed of the Taliban’s advance

For a collective failure to assess the escalating situation in Afghanistan, both the federal government and the country’s intelligence services, as well as the international community, said on Monday the Minister of Foreign Affairs Germany Haiko Maas.

“We misjudged the situation. Neither we nor our partners we did not predict the speed with which Afghan security forces would retreat as the Taliban advanced. “Such a day also requires honesty and we must admit it in every way,” said the Social Democrat politician (SPD) according to Die Zeit and as broadcast by APE BPE.

“We saw awesome pictures from Afghanistan. The developments of the last few days are all extremely bitter and will have long-term consequences for the region, but also for us. There is nothing that we can do to help. “The federal government will now make every effort on the ground to save as many people as possible from the catastrophic situation.”

“The group of retirees has grown beyond the 2,500 in uniform, of which 1,900 are already in Germany. They are collaborators of non-governmental organizations, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), as well as human rights activists and women’s rights activists who are also about to leave. Their number should be multiplied by their family members. The majority of those leaving are already in Kabul. They must now be allowed to reach the airport. From there, they will be transported from Afghanistan by German and American military planes.

How many will be able to reach the airport can not be determined at this time. “The remaining team of the German embassy in Kabul is now at the airport of the capital and continues to work from there for the evacuations”, informed the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

However, according to participants in a meeting of the presidency of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU), the chancellor Merkel calculated the number of departing Germans in Approximately 10,000.

According to information the airport is the last seat belt of the Allies in Afghanistan.

“Absolute fiasco”

Following the rise of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan and the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport, German parties say shocked.

The parliamentary group of the Greens even asked special meeting of the parliamentary body responsible for the secret services.

“We need clarity as to what information was available to the federal government about the situation in Afghanistan and whether it was our own information or based on information from other secret services. “The situation in Afghanistan is an absolute fiasco,” said the Green MP. Konstantin von Notts, in the financial newspaper “Handelsblatt”.

The Left Party (Die Linke) called the recapture of Afghanistan by the Taliban after the withdrawal of Western troops a “historic fiasco” and also called for responsibility. “It is difficult to imagine a greater failure after 20 years of large-scale armed operations by the West and the federal army (Bundeswehr),” said the party leader. Susanne Henning-Velsov, in the newspapers of the Funke Journalistic Group.

“It is a moral imperative that the federal government bring back the German people from Kabul now. A non-bureaucratic mass evacuation must now take place. “Federal Foreign Minister Haiko Maas is responsible for all those who can no longer save themselves and their families.”

And the General Secretary of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU), Paul Tsimiak, criticized the situation: “What we are experiencing there is clearly a disaster. The question of the withdrawal of troops, how it was organized and at what point, shows that this is a complete disaster, especially the rescue operation, which apparently started too late, and the erroneous assessment of how fast they could move forward. the Taliban, “he told RTL and NTV.

“I am also shocked by the apparent miscalculation, not only by the current State Department, but also by the US and other secret services. It is also clear to us that the refugee drama of 2015 must not be repeated. “We will not be able to solve the issue of Afghanistan by migrating to Germany,” Tsimiak said.

The chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) also said in shock at her party’s federal presidency: “We have to work with neighboring countries. “Without the United States, we would not be able to carry out such a mission,” she said, according to participants in the meeting. “Now as many people as possible must return safely,” he added.

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