Germans downbeat on chances for military success in Afghanistan

A broad majority of Germans are sceptical on prospects for a military success in Afghanistan, according to a survey published by YouGov on Wednesday. Some 70 percent of Germans don't believe that the NATO-led military operation can be successful. Meanwhile, some 68 percent of Germans say their country should not have participated in the 10-year-old western military mission in Afghanistan. Only 23 percent of Germans approve the deployment of German troops in the war-stricken country. Over the last month, Afghan rebels have stepped up their attacks against western forces, targeting NATO headquarters and the American embassy in Kabul and killing former president Burhanuddin Rabbani. Around 5,000 German troops are deployed in mostly northern Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Dozens of German soldiers were killed and hundreds more were wounded in the controversial western military mission in Afghanistan. A large majority of Germans strongly oppose the Afghan war.