The State Department spokesman stressed that military force should be a last resort, but admitted that the Taliban had apparently broken their agreement with the US that they would not allow those who threaten the security of other countries to find refuge in Afghanistan.
The German government appeared cautious in relation to the assassination of the leader of al-Qaeda by the US using a drone, pointing out at the same time that it does not have its own information about the specific circumstances of the strike.
The State Department spokesman stressed that military force should be a last resort, but admitted that the Taliban had apparently broken their agreement with the US that they would not allow those who threaten the security of other countries to find refuge in Afghanistan.
Ayman al-Zawahri “was an internationally wanted terrorist, the leader of one of the most dangerous terrorist networks, and al-Qaeda is responsible for thousands of victims of terrorism around the world, including the September 11 attacks in the USA, with thousands of victims” , State Department spokesman Christopher Burger said, stressing, however, that “the assessment of the use of military means always depends on the exact circumstances and each case must be considered individually.
“The German government has no information of its own about the details and background of the drone attack in Kabul. As a matter of principle, military force should always be a last resort. All other options to prevent danger must first be exhausted, which for us would be primarily a police duty.
Now the US has taken a completely different path and has reached an agreement with the Taliban that Afghanistan will not again be used as a safe haven to threaten the security of other countries from Afghan soil. The presence of an internationally wanted terrorist like Ayman al-Zawahri in Kabul raises serious doubts about whether the Taliban are keeping their promises. That promise has obviously been broken,” said Mr. Burger.
Responding to a question about whether the US base in Ramstein was used to control the drone that struck Zawahri, the ministry spokesman said that the US side has repeatedly assured that while using the base it respects the applicable laws.
“The US is also obliged to do this under international law,” he said, adding that the German government is in constant contact with the US on the issue of drone operations and whether and to what extent they are controlled in some way by Rammstein base. He even recalled that with the decision of November 25, 2020, the Federal Administrative Court ruled that the federal government has sufficiently fulfilled its constitutional obligations regarding the operation of the base.
The spokesman, however, declined to answer questions about whether Secretary of State Annalena Burbock is maintaining her earlier stance against US drone strikes.
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