“Maybrit Illner” on Afghanistan: We can’t get people out because we don’t have a strategy. “

TV Criticism

The issue that is on everyone’s mind these days is the situation in Afghanistan. Of course, “Maybrit Illner” also has a special on this topic that wanted nothing less than to pursue the question: “Triumph of the Taliban – how did the West fail?” In fact, Illner asked this question several times. The answers were always the same: committees of inquiry have to clarify that, at the moment the only thing that matters is to save human lives. Just how that should be possible in this chaos, no one could answer this question.

The guests were:

What was particularly impressive was what Patoni Izaaqzai-Teichmann had to report. The woman was one of the seven people that the Bundeswehr flew out of Afghanistan on the first plane. And she made serious allegations against Germany. “It was terrible to see the Taliban,” she said, and that she was lucky to have landed on this machine in the first place. Many others do not have this chance and one of the reasons is that the Germans in Afghanistan are too badly organized. There are too many lists with different names, which is one of the reasons why many people are not able to get to the airport at all. She urged a better cooperation between the USA and Germany on site. “We’ll just leave everyone there [zurück]. We can’t get people out because we don’t have a strategy. “Izaaqzai-Teichmann is sad and also stunned.

Local staff will not be admitted to the airport

The two journalists Souad Mekhennet and Katrin Eigendorf agreed. Eigendorf is experiencing similar things from afar these days, she reports that it is impossible to get local staff who work for ZDF out of the country. Again and again, they and their families would be turned away by the Americans, but according to their information there is no gate at which Germans are responsible. And so you and many in the editorial team can only hope that everything will go well in the end.

Contradicting statements about cooperation on site

Johann Wadephul decided against this. Much on site is well organized, Wadephul also claimed that there is a gate for which the Americans are responsible and one for the Germans. When Katrin Eigendorf asked where it was, the CDU politician stumbled. “I wonder where the strategy is”, the journalist asked excitedly, while Wadephul continued to adhere to his belief that “we have a very close working relationship”. Of course, it is difficult to see the situation from Germany, but it is at least irritating how much the deputy group leader stuck to his hope for a common solution while at the same time looking for mistakes in the others.

“German authorities have not always been properly informed by the Americans,” warned Wadephul and in turn urged a committee of inquiry. The fact that it is currently of no use to anyone, that at the moment it has to be about saving human lives, this urgency was missed by the CDU man. Of course we are in the middle of the election campaign, but as a spectator you wish that the priorities would be different.

Responsibility is indivisible

Lieutenant Colonel André Wüstner called for “responsibility and consistency” when it comes to dealing with those responsible. “Responsibility is indivisible. […] You have to be able to look in the mirror, “he said and also urged a complete explanation. Of course, this has to happen and of course other than the current government has to come into focus and save as many people as possible, he interjected that this could not be remedied “from her desk.” Annalena Baerbock also saw it that way. Her concrete ideas for the next few days:

Wüstner then added that he would advocate the “generous flight out” to a third country and that the people there would first be subjected to a more detailed check. This would mean that more people than before could be flown out and brought to safety. It is also noteworthy that the entire discussion revolved around support for local staff. Support for the rest of the Afghan population, who do not all want to live under the rule of the Taliban, was not discussed.

Further topics:

Are the new Taliban different? “Of course this is a new generation of the Taliban,” said Katrin Eigendorf. There are different wings and at the moment it is not foreseeable which of them will prevail, added Souad Mekhennet.

Was the decision correct 20 years ago? Here the Greens and the CDU agreed: the aid in Afghanistan 20 years ago was the right one. André Wüstner pointed out that “people had been given better living conditions for 20 years”. That was correct and was communicated by veterans and the bereaved families. Why didn’t local staff start to leave the country in April? According to Johann Wadephul, the services did not report any dangers, even when it was already an issue in journalists’ circles. Here, too, the CDU man suggested carrying out an investigation into how well and reliably the BND, among others, works.

What is coming is not yet foreseeable

Countless human lives are currently threatened, and the freedom of many is being massively curtailed. The images of the desperate people clinging to an airplane, of those falling from the undercarriage from great heights, will burn into our heads forever. Journalist Souad Mekhennet warned that this may only have been the beginning. Because it is clear that the Taliban have regained power in Afghanistan will have an impact on the global security situation. What exactly is in store for us cannot be foreseen at the moment. But these days it is becoming abundantly clear that the West has failed with its peacekeeping mission.