SURPRISE VISIT TO AFGHANISTAN: Merkel Resists Calls to Send Troops South

German Chancellor Angela Merkel landed in Afghanistan on Saturday for her first visit to the country. She pledged more funds for training police and -- with an eye to an upcoming parliamentary vote -- insisted German troops would not be sent to the dangerous south. ---Merkel took the opportunity to emphasize what she sees as Germany's priorities in Afghanistan, namely training police and helping to build up infrastructure, and she reiterated Germany's determination not to send its troops to the volatile south.