German military chief resigns over Afghan air strike

[David]

BERLIN (Reuters) – The head of Germany's armed forces and a senior defense ministry official were forced to resign on Thursday over reports the military withheld details about a deadly September 4 air strike in Afghanistan.

Opposition parties also called for Franz Josef Jung, defense minister at the time and now labor minister, to step down in what could become a major embarrassment for Chancellor Angela Merkel just as she considers sending more troops to Afghanistan.

Asked about the matter by reporters, Merkel stopped short of fully endorsing Jung, a member of her Christian Democrats (CDU).

The air strike, ordered by a German commander and carried out by a U.S. F-15 fighter, was the deadliest operation involving German troops since World War Two, killing 69 Taliban fighters and 30 civilians, according to the Afghan government.

But in the days after the strike, Jung repeatedly denied that there were any civilian victims.

Germany's Bild newspaper had reported on Thursday, just before the start 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 Jung and the military were denying them.

New Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who took over from Jung last month, acknowledged the existence of the report and said he had been unaware of it until Wednesday.

Speaking in the Bundestag lower house, Guttenberg said Wolfgang Schneiderhan, who as inspector general holds the highest military post in the German armed forces, and deputy defense minister Peter Wichert had both resigned.

"This (secret military) report and others from the previous legislative period were not presented and responsibility for this has been taken at a senior level," Guttenberg said.

Opposition parties called for a parliamentary inquiry and demanded a statement from Jung, who has said he will speak later on Thursday after reviewing the documents in question.

If it became clear that Jung was aware of the documents but ignored what they said about civilian casualties, he would almost certainly be forced to resign.

At a news conference with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Merkel said she backed Guttenberg in his effort to clear up the matter and "take the necessary steps," and expected Jung to be open about what he knew about the incident.

"I have full confidence that (Jung) will act in the same spirit, namely that responsibility in Afghanistan means full transparency," she said.

UNPOPULAR MISSION

Germany has about 4,250 troops in Afghanistan, most in the north of the country where Taliban insurgents are staging a fierce bid to reclaim former strongholds.

Next week, parliament is expected to renew a mandate which allows Merkel's government to deploy up to 4,500 troops in the country, but senior officials have indicated that this number could be raised early next year after a strategy review.

NATO allies are re-examining their presence in Afghanistan and U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to announce on Tuesday that he will send an additional 30,000 troops there.

The mission has become increasingly unpopular in Germany and other western countries as violence has surged to its deadliest levels since the Taliban was forced from power in 2001.

The September strike came as a shock to the public in Germany, where opposition to military conflict runs deep more than 60 years after the Nazi defeat.

It took place near Kunduz in northern Afghanistan and was called in by German troops who later described it as a pre-emptive measure to prevent a possible suicide attack by Taliban fighters who had hijacked two fuel trucks.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the raid a major "error of judgment" and it was also criticized by the French and British foreign ministers.

On November 6, some two months after the strike, Guttenberg became the first senior government official to admit publicly that civilians had died.















The head of the German armed forces General Wolfgang Schneiderhan arrives for a statement to the media in Berlin, October 29, 2009.