October 9, 2008:
Germany is pulling its commandos out of
Afghanistan. The KSK commandos have been there for most of the last seven
years. Many Germans, especially leftist politicians and journalists, have not
been happy with that. This has resulted in several unflattering, and largely
inaccurate, articles about the KSK in the German media. There was also an
investigation of several KSK men, accused of kicking an Afghan prisoner. While
the KSK were allowed to fight, they also operated under some restrictions. They
generally could not fire at the enemy unless first fired upon. This led to at
least one senior Taliban leader getting away from the KSK. The fleeing Taliban
honcho was not firing at the pursuing KSK, so the commandos could not take him
down.
Germany sent 120 KSK commandos to
Afghanistan in late 2001. They were not given their own area of operation, but
worked with American special forces and commandos as needed. The KSK commandos
are the first German troops to engage in combat since 1945 (not counting some
communist East German military advisers who may have had to defend themselves
in places like Africa. German peacekeepers in the 1990s Balkans have not had to
fight.) KSK's achievement was celebrated in late 2001, when a supply of quality
German beer was flown in for the troops.
The KSK were respected by their fellow
special operations soldiers, and particularly liked because the Germans were
sent beer rations (two cans a day per man). The KSK troops would often share
the brew with their fellow commandos, which sometimes resulted in favors in the
form of special equipment or intel data. Even with the restrictions, the KSK
saw lots of action, but little of it was publicized, lest it generate more
criticism back home.