'Germany Discovers A War In Afghanistan', Spiegel Online, 9 September 2008

EXCERPT: "For years, Germans have preferred to see their country's presence in Afghanistan as armed development assistance. That myth is now becoming more difficult to maintain as the violence spreads to the north where the Germans are based. Seen from the air, downtown Kunduz looks like a large board game, a series of symmetrically interlocking rectangles and streets intersecting at precise right angles. But this aerial image is merely an illusion of a perfect order. In reality, life is anything but orderly in this northern Afghan city, where German soldiers have been stationed for the past five years. No one is more aware of this than Mohammed Sharif, a general with the Afghan intelligence agency. When he greets a visitor in his office, sitting in a large velour armchair, Sharif is barefoot, his shirt unbuttoned down to his chest. His skin is deeply tanned and his head is covered with a thick mat of hair. Fans help keep the room cool on this hot, late summer day."

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See also:
'Photo gallery: The war expands in Afghanistan', Spiegel Online, 9 September 2008
'Germany boosts Afghan aid budget as violence rises', Deutsche Welle, 9 September 2008
'Afghan minister slams Pakistan at German security conference', The Earth Times, 9 September 2008

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