Germans reject U.S. troops request

Germany insists it will not send more troops to Afghanistan and it will not move them to the restive south, despite a reported request from the United States.

Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said Friday that the 3,200 German troops already in Afghanistan fulfilled Germany's mandate, and that he felt the country was doing enough to support the NATO mission.

Jung spoke at a news conference after German news outlets reported U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates had sent a letter in which he "demanded" greater participation in southern Afghanistan.

Jung did not speak about the letter's contents, but the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported the it was "formal and direct" and written in an "unusually sharp tone."

Gates' letter requested a contribution to a reinforcement of 3,200 troops for the NATO mission in southern Afghanistan, the newspaper reported, especially with the helicopter units and paratroopers in the south.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/01/germany.afghanistan/index.html