Afghan massacre scandal in Germany continues

This video from Germany is called People and Politics | Death in Afghanistan – The Bundeswehr under fire.

The return of German militarism: Colonel Klein goes unpunished

22 April 2010

The Karlsruhe federal prosecutor has closed an investigation into army colonel Georg Klein. This means that no one will face legal consequences for the deadliest bomb attack by the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) since its formation.

On September 4, 2009, Colonel Klein issued a command to bomb two hijacked tankers near the Afghan city of Kunduz. According to NATO sources, up to 142 people were killed as a result, including dozens of civilians. In the aftermath, senior German government and military circles tried to cover up the massacre. Only following press releases and pronouncements from the American authorities did the true extent of the massacre become known.

Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) had to resign because for several days after the attack he falsely denied knowledge that there were civilian victims. His successor, Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg (Christian Social Union, CSU), initially defended Klein’s conduct, but then had to reverse himself, calling the attack “not appropriate militarily.” He dismissed General Inspector Wolfgang Schneiderhan and a state secretary for allegedly withholding documents from him. The Bundestag (federal parliament) even established a committee of inquiry to probe the Kunduz affair.

The federal prosecutor has now given Klein a free pass, absolving him of any criminal responsibility for the massacre in Kunduz. This will give the army a free hand to perpetrate similar massacres in future.

The reasons given by the prosecutor for this action mark a significant development of German militarism. An unelected federal agency with neither democratic legitimacy nor judicial powers has created a legal precedent that will have fatal consequences.

In a bid to quell public anger, Pakistan’s army chief was forced to issue a public apology last Saturday over the recent killing of more than 70 civilians near the Afghanistan border: here.

The regular killing of civilians has dramatically heightened the already pervasive hatred of occupation forces by the Afghan population, even as a steady build-up takes place of US and NATO troop numbers in the country: here.

Nothing to see here folks: covering up a massacre in Afghanistan: here.

Children among five Afghans killed in Nato airstrike: officials (byonlineweb.com)
Solider who massacred Afghan villagers gets life without parole (usnews.nbcnews.com)
Life Sentence for Solider who Killed 16 Afghans (nation.time.com)
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales Apologizes for Afghan Massacre (newsy.com)
US soldier behind Afghan massacre apologizes for ‘act of cowardice’ – Reuters (reuters.com)

17 thoughts on “Afghan massacre scandal in Germany continues”

Dear Friend,

This Mother’s Day, do something that will make a tangible difference for thousands of mothers around the world. Help us by donating to put an end to this devastating war in Afghanistan.

Did you know that Mother’s Day in the U.S. originated as a day of peace? In 1870, the creator Julia Ward Howe, called on Mothers to come together and protest the futility of their children killing the children of other mothers during the Civil War.

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Our peace efforts through Rethink Afghanistan thus far have been featured on thousands of blogs, hundreds of newspapers and numerous television programs. We have revealed the incredible amount of our tax-dollars being spent to fuel a war instead of domestic social services. We are calling for the U.S. to rethink the policy; use non-military solutions to solve the problems in Afghanistan.

It will cost us $15,000 to produce this next video. We need your support to reach our goal.

We sincerely appreciate your contribution of any amount. For a gift of $25 you’ll be able to post a comment on the dedication wall and if you donated on behalf of someone you’ll be able to send them an email telling them about it. For $50 or more we’ll also send you, your mom, or the person of your choosing, a limited edition tote bag to show our appreciation. And for a gift of $75 we will also list you or a dedicated name in the credits of the upcoming video for allowing us to make it all happen!

Thank you for standing with us this year in honoring mothers by supporting peace and creating change.

Yours,
Robert Greenwald, Mikaela Pollock
and the Brave New Foundation Team

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Dear Friend,

U.S. and allied special forces in Afghanistan killed 2 civilian men, 2 pregnant women and a teenage girl in Gardez, and they then tried to hide their crime. We can’t let them get away with a cover-up. Watch our new video featuring an exclusive interview with a survivor, and sign our petition calling for an independent, U.N.-led investigation.

In this night raid on Feb. 12, special forces mistakenly attacked a baby shower. Instead of getting immediate medical treatment for the wounded, special forces personnel focused on destroying evidence, digging the bullets out of the bodies.

Gen. McChrystal’s P.R. team fought for weeks to obscure the truth. They lied about finding the women dead when they arrived. They smeared journalists who questioned their story. On April 4, they admitted to killing all of the innocent victims, including the women.

After this outrageous behavior, McChrystal says we should trust his forces to investigate themselves. That’s ludicrous.

Watch our exclusive interview with a survivor of the raid and demand an independent investigation into the cover-up of the slaughter of innocent civilians.

Thanks for all you do.

Sincerely,
Derrick Crowe

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