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"We are, eagerly probably as you all are, waiting for the president's speech and ... waiting for the new concept, the new strategic ideas from our American friends," German Minister of Defence Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said after meetings at the Pentagon yesterday.
A day earlier, Germany announced it will continue its military mission in Afghanistan next year despite the war's unpopularity at home and doubts about the credibility of the Afghan government.
Guttenberg told reporters he has assured US Defense Secretary Robert Gates that Germany's commitment is firm. He also said Germany will make its own choices.
After a speech later at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Guttenberg said that the US pressure on Germany to increase troop levels and to remove restrictions on its troops had eased as German troops deployed in the North of Afghanistan have taken on greater risk and casualties.
"I think that is because we have made clear that the German soldiers are not any longer in the North only to dig holes for water and wave to Afghan children," he said. "It's more and more that we are in combat situations."
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