German military chief resigns over Afghan air strike

[Ichingcarpenter]

Source: Reuters

BERLIN, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Germany's armed forces chief Wolfgang Schneiderhan has resigned, Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said, after accusations the military withheld information about an air strike in Afghanistan.

The Sept. 4 strike was the most deadly operation involving German troops since World War Two, killing 69 Taliban fighters and 30 civilians, according to the Afghan government.

Germany's Bild newspaper reported on Thursday, ahead of a parliamentary debate on extending Germany's 4,500-strong mission in Afghanistan, that videos and a secret military report had clearly pointed to civilian casualties at the time the government and military was denying them.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5AP0MX.htm

[ensho]

1. kick

nt

[cowcommander]

2. Would be nice if our own politicians could be held accountable like that

[FarCenter]

3. They are completely lacking in personal honor

[Mari333]

4. well, they have class. they have learned the hard way

that empires, military empires, are bullshit.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Merkel under fire as general resigns over Kunduz massacre

Merkel under fire as general resigns over Kunduz massacre

Commanding officer and ex-defence minister stand down as video reveals Germany covered up civilian deaths

By Kim Sengupta in Kabul

Friday, 27 November 2009

The head of Germany's armed forces has resigned over allegations of a military cover-up following a Nato air strike in Afghanistan that killed dozens of civilians. General Wolfgang Schneiderhan's resignation caps a deeply embarrassing episode for Chancellor Angela Merkel and her government over the country's policy in Afghanistan.

The 4 September bombing of two oil tankers in the northern Afghan town of Kunduz caused carnage, and was the deadliest incident involving German troops since the Second World War. At first the German Nato forces, which had ordered the attack, claimed that all those killed in the incident were insurgents, although later the government in Berlin expressed regrets if innocent people had been among the victims.

Yesterday General Schneiderhan, the highest ranking official in the Germany armed forces, asked to be relieved of his duties for failing to pass on crucial information to ministers. Peter Wichert, a deputy defence minister who was in office at the time of the attack also stepped down. The resignations came after Bild newspaper published photographs from a secret army video indicating that civilian deaths were known about even as the then defence minister, Franz Josef Jung, was insisting that there was no evidence to show anyone but Taliban fighters had died.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/merkel-under-fire-as-general-resigns-over-kunduz-massacre-1828779.html

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. Thanks for the update

The breaking news l posted was rather vague.