The new German defense minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg is famous for being a charismatic politician who knows how to attract the attention of people. He is a conservative politician from Bavaria who made his point earlier this year, when he criticised the subventions for the automobile company Opel, a subcompany of General Motors.
Right from the beginning, zu Guttenberg made clear that he stands for political directness and does not hesitate to speak his mind. Therefore, people were not wondering when he described the ongoings and involvements of German soldiers in a different way than his predecessor: he spoke of warlike events in Afghanistan.
Former defense minister Franz Josef Jung never mentioned any wordcombinations related to “war” when the military tasks of the German Bundeswehr were discussed. Of course, war in a distinct meaning can only take place among states due to the law of nations; but to be honest, it is quite euphemistic not to make us of “war” given the fact that even some German soldiers felt and talked of war in Afghanistan.
Zu Guttenberg also had to deal with the case of Colonel Georg Klein, who ordered the strike against the Taliban back in September 4, which caused the death of 69 Taliban fighters and 30 civilians, according to the Afghan government. This is probably the most deadful military attack with German participation after World War II. The defense minister came to the conclusion that the bombing of two fuel trucks was an appropriate action in spite of some procedural errors.
The attitude of zu Guttenberg was greeted by German soldiers who liked his straightforward words but some European ministers still found that the bombing was a mistake. Especially the utterance of “warlike events” in Afghanistan was not accepted by politicians ot the SPD, the social democtrats in Germany. Only the future can show us, if the rather new view on the ongoings in Afghanistan will finally bring a change. After about 30 years of terrorism and war (or warlike events), the country needs peace.
