"Maischberger. Die Woche “(ARD): Heated debate about the debacle in Afghanistan

At “Maischberger. Die Woche “on ARD is about the situation in Afghanistan. Theo Koll comes to a damning verdict.

Sandra Maischberger joins the ARD with the shocking pictures of the week: people who desperately cling to planes in Kabul. Despite the increasing incidence, there are again a few viewers in the broadcast studio, but in view of the threatening situation in Afghanistan there is little reason to be happy, the applause is muted. “How dangerous is the situation? Who is responsible? ”Maischberger first wants to know from the three journalists who are supposed to analyze the situation.

“The West has failed dramatically”, the head of the ZDF capital city office Theo Koll draws a devastating verdict on “Maischnberger. Die Woche ”(ARD), and stresses that in the past major Western powers would not have understood the structures in Afghanistan. “We believed in an illusion that we could build a system there that was similar to ours”, states Theo Koll. Anna Schneider, chief reporter of “Welt” agrees, but warns against attesting to “the West” a general failure and instead speaks of a “disgrace”. She can gain a lot from the “naive idealism of the USA”, but: “The strategy was flawed.”

Discussions on Afghanistan at “Maischberger. The week “(ARD)

“Spiegel” author Markus Feldenkirchen adds to “Maischberger. Die Woche “in the ARD that the reason for the use was inconsistent. After the goal of tracking down Osama bin Laden and giving Al-Qaeda a lesson had been achieved, the mission in Afghanistan turned into a “mission without a goal”. The idea of making a state democratic by military means has never worked, with the only exception: Germany after the Second World War. Sandra Maischberger also takes a look at history for comparison and shows pictures from Saigon from 1975 with a view to the Vietnam War, which resemble the current pictures from Kabul in a disturbing way. Theo Koll paraphrases a pseudo Mark Twain quote: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but we hear a rhyme”.

On the question of Maischberger (ARD), who is now responsible, the quote from Joe Biden is played in, in which the US President blames the Afghans themselves for their situation. “That is wrong,” says Theo Koll, even if the Afghans do share responsibility. “That sticks to Joe Biden,” judges Anna Schneider, because he could not talk out of it that his predecessor Donald Trump had initiated the withdrawal.

“Maischberger. Die Woche “(ARD): Anyone who went to the polls in Afghanistan was threatened by the Taliban

Sandra Maischberger now turns to the two studio guests on ARD, who know exactly the situation in Afghanistan. The Afghan ethnologist Shikiba Babori has worked as a journalist in the country for the past 20 years and has repeatedly spoken to women and families. Especially outside the cities, the country has never really been safe in the last 20 years. Those who went to the polls were repeatedly threatened by the Taliban. She does not believe in the “lip service” of the Taliban leadership that everything is now much more liberal and that women are allowed to work and girls are allowed to go to school as long as they are veiled. “Even now women no longer dare to leave the house. It’s like a nightmare: people feel betrayed on all sides, ”says Shikiba Babori.

The Bundeswehr captain Marcus Grotian from the “Sponsorship Network Afghan Local Forces” also reports nightmarish scenes. “Monday was one of the blackest days for us,” he says at “Maischberger. The week “(ARD). Since April he had repeatedly pointed out in vain that the wards had to be brought back, but over 50 percent of the local workers had been excluded “politically” by officially having them employed by Afghan subcontractors. He saw the Taliban questioning children in Kandahar about who had worked with the Western powers. “The German government apparently assumes that it has no obligation to follow-up,” says Marcus Grotian.

Subject Afghanistan: heated dialogue at “Maischberger. Die Woche “on ARD

Shikiba Babori agrees with Maischberger on ARD that of course one should have helped the local staff, but also asks a worrying question: “If you get the slowly growing middle class out of Afghanistan – who will remain in the country?”

About the question at “Maischberger. Die Woche “(ARD) after the political responsibility in this country, a heated dialogue is developing between left-wing politician Gergor Gysi and CDU man Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Gysi emphasizes that as early as 2001 his parliamentary group was the only one to find the mission wrong, and in May they, and also the Greens, as Sandra Maischberger added, submitted a motion in the Bundestag to bring the local staff out of the country Government was rejected. He also voted against this motion, admits Norbert Röttgen, but nevertheless makes it clear: “The government should have acted”.

Maischberger on ARD: What alternatives to military operations in Afghanistan were possible?

In the heated debate at Maischberger on ARD, Gregor Gysi shows which alternatives to military use were possible. Help could be offered under certain conditions, for example help for schools on the condition that girls are allowed to attend them. Norbert Röttgen reacts indignantly: “The consequence of their politics would be that the Taliban could rule unhindered”. Gysi countered that was “nonsense”. In any case, the 12.5 billion for the war could have been spent more sensibly.

At the end of the talk show on ARD, Sandra Maischberger wants to have at least answered the questions about who is now responsible. “The decisive responsibility lies in the White House in Washington,” says Norbert Röttgen, but again admits that the German government has also failed. But what is the consequence? Markus Feldenkirchen suggests: Foreign ministers, defense ministers and interior ministers could resign, even if that is only a symbolic signal in view of the upcoming Bundestag elections.

All three journalists are at “Maischberger. Die Woche “(ARD) agreed that this will not happen. Looking ahead to the upcoming election, Theo Koll gives the following assessment: “I’ve never seen a situation in which we had so many potential coalition options”. So we could face a long period of transitional government. The bitter realization is in the room: There will probably not be any real consequence of the failure in Afghanistan in top German politics. (Teresa Schomburg)