NATO's withdrawal doesn't necessarily mean there has to be an outbreak of chaos. For example, in Iraq the chaos didn't increase when American troops left. Instead, it was the American invasion -- and not the withdrawal -- that triggered the gruesome chaos there.

At this point NATO is only concerned with getting out of the Afghanistan mess with as little loss of face as possible. By sending in the reinforcements, Barack Obama has merely rung the bell announcing one final, bloody round of fighting. This war will end the same way that the Algerian War, the Vietnam War and the Soviet war in Afghanistan did.

If no one steps in to seize the helm and change the course of affairs, this final, bloody round will once again mean a senseless death for countless people. Our politicians, of course, will continue to tell solemn tales of bravery and patriotism. And all of this will have happened just so they wouldn't have to admit to misleading the public and our soldiers for nine years -- and that they never had a real reason for getting us into this war in the first place.

Still, there is another option: negotiations at both the national and international levels. Why is it that not a single German politician will venture to position our country once again as a force for peace? Does this government not have a politician with the gravitas of a Willy Brandt, a Hans-Dietrich Genscher or an Egon Bahr? Isn't there someone who could make clear to Barack Obama -- in a friendly way and behind closed doors, if necessary -- that there's a smarter course of action than this war without a cause or a goal? And that we won't participate in this final, bloody round?

Where is the German politician who could initiate the establishment of a security conference on the Middle East like the Cold War's Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)? Isn't there someone willing to push for direct talks between American leaders and Mullah Omar? Could it be that someone willing to do these things is exactly the kind of alliance partner Obama really needs, an honest and true friend?

The Only Way Out Is Negotiation

Anyone who finds the idea of such talks unrealistic should just ask Henry Kissinger about the criticisms hurled at him when he negotiated with the Viet Cong. Western politicians' insistence on negotiating only with moderate members of the Taliban is simply out of touch with reality. What would the Vietnamese have said if Kissinger had insisted on negotiating only with moderate Viet Cong members? What would the general secretary of the Soviet Union have thought if the West had explained it was only willing to talk with moderate Soviets?

Though negotiations wouldn't be easy, at least the US does have something to offer: a ceasefire for a country exhausted by 30 years of war, the withdrawal of its occupying forces and international acceptance that their former opponents will play a role in the country's government. Anyone whose hair stands on end at the thought of Mullah Omar sharing power in Afghanistan should be reminded that -- even if they deny it now -- Afghan leaders did offer him the position of vice president long ago.

What the Taliban could bring to this kind of deal would be a guarantee that they would not allow any kind of activity by foreign terrorists in the country, and that they would clamp down on opium farmers. All of these things will happen as a matter of course, as will either the Taliban's participation in the country's government or its complete seizure of power. It's not all that different from how things went in Vietnam -- and our political leaders know it. So is it really necessary to keep destroying Afghanistan for another four years?

Tears for Afghanistan

Just once, I would like to take a German politician to visit an Afghan family. He could leave his combat helmet and flak jacket at home since hospitality is a tradition sacred to Afghans. We could go to the village of Aliabad, near Kunduz, and visit children whose fathers and siblings were incinerated when a German officer ordered the bombing of two tanker trucks there in September 2009. Those children would probably like to ask their German guests what their family members had ever done to them.

As I'm writing this the weather outside is somewhere between snow and rain, just as it was during that December demonstration 26 years ago in Tübingen. A defense minister is once again awarding medals of honor, without daring to admit that the war has already been lost. We have so many brave soldiers, but so few brave politicians. These days, I'm busy building a home for the orphans of Aliabad, the victims of Germany's lack of bravery. It's enough to make me cry. But no one cries for Afghanistan.