German Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to Germans in her weekly online video message Saturday to support German troops deployed in war-torn Afghanistan. "There is no alternative," she said, amid continuing criticism from opposition parties, which have called for a partial or complete pullout of Germany's biggest force abroad from the conflict. She said the issue was not just the welfare of the Afghan people However, Germany's own security as well. Foreign troop deployments require regular votes of approval from the German parliament. The mandates for the peacekeepers and forces backing the war against the Taliban come up for renewal in October and November. "We must not leave Afghanistan to the terrorists again," said Merkel. "Instead Afghanistan had to be helped to establish robust Government institutions."
