Irony Alert: Germans Unwilling to Send Army Overseas

A few days ago I wrote about some of the bleak options facing President Obama in the foreign policy arena. Looks like at least one of my predictions is coming true: The Germans are terrified they'll be asked to send more troops to Afghanistan.

"The foreign ministry in Berlin expects the new US president to eliminate a number of problem areas shortly after he takes office. But they are also afraid that Obama will soon ask the question that virtually no one in Germany wants to hear: Could you send more troops to Afghanistan?

The strategists in the chancellery, the foreign ministry and the defense ministry are currently compiling arguments that would counter such brash proposals from the other side of the Atlantic. The ruling coalition of the CDU and the SPD are loathe to commit themselves to a stronger military involvement in Afghanistan -- and they want to avoid at all costs deploying German combat troops to the war-torn south."

H/T to Kim Du Toit, who found the article in Der Spiegel