German chief of staff sacked over airstrike

[jimmy olsen]

As is usually the case, the cover up causes more damage than the actual incident in question, although I'm sure those killed would disagree.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34166612/ns/world_news-europe/

German military chief removed over airstrike
Failed to pass along information after deadly Afghanistan attack

updated 8:18 p.m. PT, Thurs., Nov . 26, 2009

BERLIN - The German military's top official was removed Thursday for failing to properly pass on information to political leaders about a September airstrike in Afghanistan that killed civilians.

The new defense minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, told parliament that the military's inspector general, Gen. Wolfgang Schneiderhan — the equivalent of chief of staff — had asked to be relieved of his duties.

That came after Germany's top-selling Bild newspaper published what it said were still captures from confidential videos of the incident. Peter Wichert, a deputy defense minister who was in office at the time of the airstrike, also stepped down.

Bild reported that the videos and a confidential military report suggested it was likely civilians were killed, and that they were in German hands at a time when then-Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung was insisting that there was no evidence of civilian victims.

Guttenberg said, however, that Jung had not seen the material, and that he himself had only been shown it on Wednesday. Jung became Germany's labor minister last month.

Airstrike on tanker trucks
A German colonel called in the NATO airstrike against two tanker trucks that had been seized by Taliban insurgents near Kunduz, fearing they could be used to attack troops.

Thirty civilians and 69 armed Taliban died in the strike, according to a probe by an Afghan presidential commission.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said that "there must be full transparency so that there is confidence in this deployment."

Jung, who faced calls from some opposition lawmakers to quit the government, defended himself in parliament later Thursday. He said, "I correctly informed both the public and parliament about what I knew regarding these events."

Earlier this month, Guttenberg said a classified NATO report concluded there were "procedural errors" in the Sept. 4 airstrike, but defended the decision by the colonel to request it as "appropriate in military terms."

Regrets 'every civilian victim'
At the time, Guttenberg said he assumed there were civilian victims, based on his assessment of the NATO report.

"I regret ... every civilian victim deeply," he said.

The report was prepared by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, appointed a Canadian major general to lead the investigation along with officers from the U.S. Air Force and German military.

Germany has more than 4,000 troops serving in northern Afghanistan and 36 have been killed in the mission.

Guttenberg has taken a plain-talking approach to the unpopular mission in Afghanistan since taking over the Defense Ministry after September elections.

He has acknowledged that the situation in parts of Afghanistan is "similar to war" — a description Jung always avoided.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

[Jaron]

Spammer.

[chipwich]

He knew what would happen to those who fail the Fatherland.

[jimmy olsen]

Spammer.

Start your own threads if you don't like it.

[Monoriu]

I for one enjoy Tim's threads.

[Zanza]

I hope they fire Jung over this. I never liked him. But Merkel will probably try to just ignore the affair.

Schneiderhan was beyond the normal age for retirement of generals anyway. I think he and the deputy secretary they fired were just the scapegoats. 

Based on the protocols of that night the German colonel who ordered the airstrike looks very guilty of misconduct too.

[jimmy olsen]

I hope they fire Jung over this. I never liked him. But Merkel will probably try to just ignore the affair.

Schneiderhan was beyond the normal age for retirement of generals anyway. I think he and the deputy secretary they fired were just the scapegoats. 

Based on the protocols of that night the German colonel who ordered the airstrike looks very guilty of misconduct too.

In what way?

[Slargos]

Man, they really did a number on you krauts.

Germans may not have been exterminated as a race, but they certainly managed to break you as a people. 

[syk]

Man, they really did a number on you krauts.

Germans may not have been exterminated as a race, but they certainly managed to break you as a people. 

[Slargos]

Man, they really did a number on you krauts.

Germans may not have been exterminated as a race, but they certainly managed to break you as a people. 

My point exactly. Thanks. 

[Zanza]

In what way?

It looks like he didn't follow NATO rules of engagement. The American HQ and pilots asked him multiple times if there was an imminent threat and troops in contact and he said so despite it not being true. They also asked him whether they should make a fly-by to scatter the people around the tankers and he denied that and asked them to attack from great height to hit all the people unprepared.

The federal prosecutors are still checking the case and consider indicting him.

[Slargos]

In what way?

It looks like he didn't follow NATO rules of engagement. The American HQ and pilots asked him multiple times if there was an imminent threat and troops in contact and he said so despite it not being true. They also asked him whether they should make a fly-by to scatter the people around the tankers and he denied that and asked them to attack from great height to hit all the people unprepared.

The federal prosecutors are still checking the case and consider indicting him.

So there's at least one good german left, and you're going to incarcerate him. Way to go. 

[MadBurgerMaker]

I for one enjoy Tim's threads.

  Timmy makes Languish almost as good as a regular news website for the major stuff (and some of the more obscure type things involving space travel). 

He's just in a wonky timezone now, so the posts occasionally come at weird-ish times for me and now my news feed is all fucked up Tim needs to be deported back to the US.

[jimmy olsen]

Looking at the forum stats I've found that while monthly post count has remained steady, the number of new threads has fallen precipitously with me in Korea. I aim to reverse that trend.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Time for him to plant a bomb in Merkel's conference room.


And I support Tim's spamming, if only because it'll give me something to read during my afternoon, when the forum is typically dead.