Source:
New York TimesNovember 27, 2009
By NICHOLAS KULISH
BERLIN — A top German official in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet, Franz Josef Jung, resigned Friday, saying he accepted “political responsibility” for accusations that the military withheld information on an airstrike in Afghanistan in September that killed civilians as well as insurgents.
The announcement by Mr. Jung, 60, who was defense minister at the time of the strike, added to the disquiet in political and military circles here after the resignations of two other high-profile figures in the Berlin defense establishment on Thursday.
Mr. Jung resigned as labor minister less than a day after standing before the German Parliament to defend his role in the widening controversy over the deadly bombing.
Calls for his departure grew louder after his speech, and at a news conference in Berlin on Friday Mr. Jung bowed to the growing pressure from opposition politicians and a sharply critical German press.
Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/world/europe/28germany.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
Italy and Germany have set good examples by convicting people involved in extraordinary rendition and holding this man accountable, in that order. These are actions we should strive to match.
Today's news is not to be confused with the resignation of the armed forces chief yesterday over the same scandal, also in Germany.