(H/T – Zip)
Der Spiegel reports that the German KSK special forces assigned to capture a rather bloodthirsty Taliban commander simply let him walk away. The KSK and the Afghan troops they were working with conducted a brilliant surveillance, right down to the color of his turban. However, when it came time to take him down, they were spotted a couple hundred yards from their target. Because the KSK is under orders to not use lethal force unless fired upon, all the commander had to do was run, which he did.
The larger policy of not firing unless fired upon is causing some serious friction between the Germans and the remainder of the NATO force in Afghanistan. Quoting an unnamed British officer, “The Krauts are allowing the most dangerous people to get away and are in the process increasing the danger for the Afghans and for all foreign forces here.”
No wonder why most of the Taliban “resurgence” has happened in German-controlled areas. I wonder what the Germans would have done had the Soviets decided to charge through the Fulda Gap.
