German Foreign Minister on the Afghanistan Debacle: “I Don’t Know If It’s Possible to Completely Make Up for Everything”
Maas: The refugee crisis of 2015 will not be repeated; today’s circumstances are far too different. But we do have to anticipate that there will be many refugees coming out of Afghanistan in the coming days, weeks and months. And owing to the mistakes and failures of recent weeks that I mentioned earlier, I believe we also have a responsibility to not simply stand idly by as a refugee movement unfolds.
DER SPIEGEL: Would you be willing to accept groups of refugees in Germany in addition to the local hires?
Maas: We are discussing this with our European allies. First of all, we should make sure that we help the states neighboring Afghanistan cope with refugees as soon as they begin arriving.
DER SPIEGEL: How many refugees do you expect there will be?
Maas: The Federal Ministry of the Interior expects the figure to range between 500,000 and 5 million. At this time, no one can confidently predict how many there will be. But this much is certain: There will be more refugees.
DER SPIEGEL: After the bungled launch of Germany’s vaccination campaign and the poor disaster-management efforts during the catastrophic flooding in parts of Germany, this is now the third time in just the last several months that Germans have watched as their government has failed to deal well with an acute crisis. Can faith in the government be restored?
Maas: The images that we’ve been seeing from Afghanistan in the last few days are so horrific and disturbing that it leaves no one unmoved. But despite all the drama, the truth is that we have now flown out more than 1,000 people. Will the broader public conclude from this that the German government is no longer capable of acting? I don’t think so.
DER SPIEGEL: Why should Germans be confident that things will go better next time?
Maas: Those intent on excluding all risk of making mistakes end up doing nothing. That cannot be an alternative, either. The important thing is for us politicians to show that we are learning the right lessons. I also disagree with you that we as a federal government are constantly messing up. Look at how well Germany has gotten through the coronavirus crisis compared with other countries or at the fact that, after the catastrophic flooding, the federal and state governments allocated €30 billion in a very short period of time. We are far from getting everything right. But compared with other countries – and I hear this often – Germany is not exactly considered a failed state.
DER SPIEGEL: Fifty-nine German soldiers were killed in the war in Afghanistan, and many more were injured, some seriously. Were these sacrifices ultimately for nothing?
Maas: Those who have been in Afghanistan over the last 20 years have helped to raise life expectancy in the country and lower infant mortality, to enable girls to go to school and women to university, and to see that human rights are respected. Our job is to make sure that these achievements do not completely vanish. But the soldiers who were deployed there made sure in a very tangible way that human lives were saved and preserved. No one can take that away from them.
DER SPIEGEL: Many veterans of the war in Afghanistan complain about the lack of societal recognition. After the catastrophe of recent days, will Germany’s government still ceremoniously honor the Afghanistan mission?
Maas: That’s the very minimum it can do. However, we must also engage in a societal debate about ensuring that soldiers on deployment receive the recognition they deserve. That hasn’t always been the case in the past. Armed soldiers were the foundation for building roads, hospitals and schools in Afghanistan.
DER SPIEGEL: Will the election battle be dominated by the Afghanistan issue?
Maas: That’s safe to assume. Afghanistan will keep us busy until the end of September and beyond. Some are, of course, already trying to turn this to their advantage. I find it strange that conservative chancellor candidate Armin Laschet is linking the acceptance of all local hires with his chancellorship. That has more to do with responsibility than with who becomes chancellor. Whoever says this and also that the refugee crisis of 2015 should not be repeated is rather ambivalent on this issue.
DER SPIEGEL: Would you like to continue to be the foreign minister after the election?
Maas: I would first wait and see which parties are actually part of the next federal government. The race is rather more open than many thought it would be. And what my professional future will look like is really the last thing I’m thinking about right now.
DER SPIEGEL: Mr. Minister, thank you very much for this interview.