Debate on Germany's status in Afghanistan opens up

[FarCenter]

Germany's defense minister has called for clarification of Germany's status in Afghanistan, after a contoversial airstrike ordered by a German commander raised the question of whether the country is at war.

German defense minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, told the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung that legal security must be established for all German Bundeswehr soldiers - in particular those taking part in complicated missions like Germany's participation in the NATO ISAF mission in Afghanistan.

"We can't have our soldiers hampered by legal doubts, especially when they are forced to make decisions under extreme time pressure," Guttenberg said.

Guttenberg's comments came after he voiced his support of a controversial airstrike ordered by a German commander in Afghanistan in September.
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The debates caused by the September airstrike have brought up the more large-scale question of whether Germany is technically at war in Afghanistan.

A court in the eastern state of Saxony has passed the Klein case on to Germany's top federal prosecution office, which will examine whether it is a matter for international law or German law.

For this to be determined the federal prosecutor must establish whether Germany's participation in the NATO ISAF mission constitutes an "armed conflict."

The head of the German military alliance, Colonel Ulrich Kirsch, told the mass-circulated Bild Zeitung that the German operation in Afghanistan constituted war.

"The justice ministry has stated explicitly what we are dealing with in Afghanistan: a non-international armed conflict. This is a war."

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Under German constitution, it is illegal for the country to enter a war, except for purposes of defense. Over sixty years following the Nazi era, Germans remain highly skeptical of military operations. It was only a decade ago that German troops participated in their first foreign combat mission since the end of WWII.

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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4868657,00.html