Germans Engage in Afghanistan

With virtually all the attention in Afghanistan focused on the events in Pakistan, Kato says the German Army is engaging the Taliban.

Since late October, German forces in Afghanistan have been involved in Operation "Harekate Yolo II", in some cases seeing heavy fighting. This lasted about two weeks, and has only since last week slowly surfaced.

The operation is a joint NATO effort to regain control of the provinces Badghis and Farjab in north-west Afghanistan. Badghis is part of the Italian Regional Command (West) and Farjab lies next to it in the German Regional Command (North) zone.

Read the details. Two weeks ago huh? That would put the timing of German action slightly after a speech by Gates, in Germany even. Could it be he was able to get some results? I hope so, while I remain unconvinced the credibility of NATO is on the line in Afghanistan, many people think it is, and to be honest I hope it is. The US needs our European allies working with us, and can't afford to have nations sitting around watching events unfold without taking action.

This could be the beginning of real progress in the Long War, if Europe and the US can ever get on the same page on how to fight this business things can get better sooner, and the reconstruction of regional economies, that aspect of life Al Qaeda and Co. can't offer, will begin sooner as well.