German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has made an about-face in his assessement of the recent air strike in Kunduz, which led to the resignation of his predecessor Franz Josef Jung. Now Guttenberg has said the strike was "militarily inappropriate." The German parliament voted to extend the country's Afghanistan mission. The deployment of the German military, the Bundeswehr, in Afghanistan has come in for more and more criticism during the past few weeks. The German populace overwhelmingly want the fastest possible withdrawal and fear that more German troops will be sent to Afghanistan.
German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has made an about-face in his assessement of the recent air strike in Kunduz, which led to the resignation of his predecessor Franz Josef Jung. Now Guttenberg has said the strike was "militarily inappropriate." The German parliament voted to extend the country's Afghanistan mission.
The deployment of the German military, the Bundeswehr, in Afghanistan has come in for more and more criticism during the past few weeks. The German populace overwhelmingly want the fastest possible withdrawal and fear that more German troops will be sent to Afghanistan.
The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: "Guttenberg expressed regret for his previous assessment (of the Kunduz bombing). But even if one has to admire the minister's courage for his 100 percent reversal of his previous position, a number of questions remain unanswered. It must be explained what new information the minister received that could explain his about-face. How did a 'militarily appropriate' bombing suddenly become 'inappropriate?'" "The most important question, though, is the following: Shouldn't Guttenberg have come to his new position long ago as a result of the NATO report on the incident? A number of findings that he didn't know in detail can be found in that report. In other words, did the minister not read the report carefully?"
The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:
"Guttenberg expressed regret for his previous assessment (of the Kunduz bombing). But even if one has to admire the minister's courage for his 100 percent reversal of his previous position, a number of questions remain unanswered. It must be explained what new information the minister received that could explain his about-face. How did a 'militarily appropriate' bombing suddenly become 'inappropriate?'"
"The most important question, though, is the following: Shouldn't Guttenberg have come to his new position long ago as a result of the NATO report on the incident? A number of findings that he didn't know in detail can be found in that report. In other words, did the minister not read the report carefully?"
