Report: Europe misplaces Afghan concerns

WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- German officials raise key insights into the challenges posed by the Afghan insurgent, though sound inquiry -- not criticism -- is what is needed, analysts say.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to raise the number of German troops fighting in Afghanistan from 3,700 to 4,400 as part of a broader effort to bring some security to the nation ahead of August elections.

So far, 35 German soldiers have died in the international effort in Afghanistan since 2002.

Former German Defense Minister Peter Stuck and parliamentarian Jurgen Todenhofer squared off in an interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel on the challenges facing Europe with the Afghan insurgency.

Todenhofer notes that the NATO mission in Afghanistan puts Germany in danger as civilian casualties and charges of Western colonialism inspire radicalism in the Muslim centers of Europe.

An analysis of the German stand on the Afghan effort by The Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, said that position underestimates the threat posed by the Afghan jihad, as the tentacles of Islamic militancy reach deeper into Europe.

The analysis says that while Berlin recognizes the importance of finding Afghan solutions to Afghan problems, the broader counterinsurgency campaign requires a concerted military effort to give Kabul room to grow.