SPD lawmaker urges German rethink on Afghanistan

By Kerstin Gehmlich

BERLIN (Reuters) - A senior lawmaker in Germany's ruling Social Democrats voiced support for the deployment of German troops to southern Afghanistan on Monday, breaking ranks with the government over a mission that is contested at home.

Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung, a leader in Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, has rejected a call from Washington to send combat soldiers to southern Afghanistan from the less violent north where they are now stationed.

But SPD lawmaker Hans-Ulrich Klose, deputy head of parliament's foreign affairs committee, said NATO had the responsibility for the whole of Afghanistan.

"It's an alliance that is built on solidarity. That means: Everyone's carrying the same risk," Klose told Bild newspaper.

"Germany should take over the Quick Reaction Force and make it strong enough for it to be deployed to the whole of Afghanistan in case of emergency -- including the south. There may well be situations in which it is inevitable to fight."

Germany's military activities in Afghanistan are controversial in a country which has only gradually expanded its role in overseas military missions since World War Two.

German politicians are wary of making a greater commitment as opinion polls show public scepticism about the mission.

But the government is also facing growing pressure from its NATO partners. The issue is set to be a major point of debate at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Vilnius later this week.