http://www.dw-world.de/dwelle/allgemein/bilder_show/0,3772,87186_1,00.jpgControversial comments by a military historian who said torture can be a legitimate instrument in the war on terror have triggered an outcry in Germany. Defense Minister Struck is considering disciplinary action.
German Defense Minister Peter Struck said on Wednesday that statements condoning torture made by Professor Michael Wolffsohn, a military historian, were "unbelievable" and "unacceptable" and said he was considering taking legal and disciplinary steps against the professor.
Wolffsohn -- an instructor in Munich at one of Germany's top two military officer training schools -- attracted controversy earlier this month when he told a German television reporter that "if we attempt to counter terror with gentlemanly methods, we will fail."
Referring to the excesses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, he said, "In the anti-terror fight there are really no effective laws of war. I believe that torture, or the threat of torture, is legitimate as one of the instruments against terror, because terror basically… has nothing to do with our civilized order."
http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1432_A_1201346_1_A,00.htmlHow happy I am that the only good thing to be said about German soldiers now is that they prefer to run away....
We had a huge scandal in one German prison these days, where attendants wearing masks were mistreating prisoners...
Or in other words: the only differance might be the amount of power and the government you have.
"If you open the window
, even just a crack, the cold air of the middle ages will fill the whole room."
Hans Christian Stroebele, Green Party member of the German parliament
Hello from Germany,
Dirk