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For many Germans, deployment in Afghanistan meant delivering aid and reconstruction to the country’s relatively peaceful north. But now the situation is becoming increasingly dangerous. And Germany seems to have found itself unwillingly dragged into a war.

Berlin has just changed the rules of military engagement for troops abroad, giving soldiers more leeway to use lethal force. This is seen as important in northern Afghanistan, where attacks by Taliban insurgents are becoming more frequent…

In a joint action with Afghan forces, 300 German soldiers used heavy firepower for the first time in a bid to flush out Taliban insurgents who are moving into the region.

Back home, meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel last month awarded four soldiers the Bundeswehr’s new cross of honour.

It was the first time since the end of World War II that Germany had awarded medals for bravery – a remarkable change in attitude considering post-war Germany’s traditional wariness of military symbols.

But although the German government looks set to get tough on the battlefield, popular opinion is heading in the opposite direction…

“The war is so unpopular that politicians won’t even call it a war,” said Alan Posener, political correspondent for the German daily newspaper Die Welt.

“We are now using armoured personnel carriers and light tanks to fight the Taliban. But politicians are saying, no, it’s not a war, it’s a peace mission. If they didn’t say that, they would get flayed alive by their voters.”

RTFA. It’s longish – and not conclusive. It could be four times as long – to wander through the complexities of German history and politics.

This generation has more than enough reason to be contemptuous of warhawk politicians. They live every day with the heritage of their grandparents who voted “Yes” to shock and awe. But, a significant chunk of the 9/11 terror plot was drafted in Germany. Just because Al Qaeda felt safe enough to attack America from Hanover isn’t reason enough to expect neutrality to be respected by religious maniacs. Next month or the month after may be their turn.

There are alternatives to exclusively military solutions just as there are dynamic changes in analyzing how to fight a war in the 21st Century. The Germans have the right – and responsibility – to choose how they proceed with any of this. Without “leadership” from American and British politicians.