From AFP:  A senior German general criticised in remarks published Saturday Germany’s failure to engage more deeply in Afghanistan, warning it could cost Berlin the command of the country’s north.

Germany has around 4,500 troops in Afghanistan, based mainly in the north where international soldiers in several provinces are under German command in a larger NATO-led force.

The troops focus largely on development and training Afghan security forces, while soldiers in the more violent south and east are engaged in heavy combat against Taliban and other insurgents.

"The Germans operate in Afghanistan under the motto: wash my fur but do not wet me," General Egon Ramms said in the Der Spiegel weekly, using a German expression of reluctance to become too involved in an activity.

"If the Germans persist with this position, they are soon going to loose the command of operations in the north," warned Ramms, commander of NATO’s Joint Forces Command based in Brunssum in The Netherlands.  (photo: NATO)

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