Germany Defends Decision on Afghan Airstrike

[JonLP24]

Source: NY Times

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed back Tuesday against international criticism over an airstrike ordered by the German military that claimed the lives of scores of people in northern Afghanistan, even as NATO announced that it appeared civilians had been among those killed in the bombing.

Mrs. Merkel addressed Parliament in the face of growing scrutiny of the decision by a German commander in Afghanistan Friday to have American aircraft bomb two hijacked tanker trucks filled with fuel in apparent contradiction to new rules intended to reduce civilian casualties. While she “deeply regrets” any innocent victims, Mrs. Merkel also said that she would not accept “premature judgments,” over the airstrike.

NATO officials announced Tuesday that Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the commander of the American and NATO forces, had appointed Canadian Gen. C.S. Sullivan to lead the formal investigation into the incident, which NATO officials expect to take several weeks to complete.

According to the news release, “An initial assessment conducted at the scene of the incident by McChrystal and several of his senior leadership team concluded that civilians had been killed or injured in the strike.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/world/asia/09germany.html