(German) Defense Minister prepares Germans for Afghan 'war'

[unhappycamper]

Defense Minister prepares Germans for Afghan 'war'
By JUERGEN BAETZ
Associated Press Writer
Apr 4, 3:22 PM EDT

BERLIN (AP) -- Germany's defense minister on Sunday for the first time referred to military operations in Afghanistan as a war, while he promised to investigate a friendly fire clash that left six Afghan soldiers dead.

Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg broke a government taboo on the politically charged word, preparing Germans to expect more fighting by telling reporters: "Even if not everyone likes it, regarding what happens in parts of Afghanistan, one can colloquially refer to it as war."

German politicians have stopped short of using the word to refer to military operations in Afghanistan for fear of generating even more public opposition to a mission that is already deeply unpopular.

Some 4,000 German soldiers control the relatively peaceful north of Afghanistan, and 39 German soldiers have died in Afghanistan in the last nine years. Parts of the north have recently proven more volatile.

Friendly fire clashes on Friday left six Aghan soldiers dead, the same day three German troops died and eight were wounded in heavy fighting with insurgents.


Rest of Stripes article at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-04-04-15-22-07



unhappycamper comment: Too bad American politicians don't give a shit about American opinions on the Afghanistan occupation.

[howard112211]

1. A majority of Germans have been against the war for a long time. No one cares there either.

[tango-tee]

2. True. This was actually the first time von Guttenberg

or any other member of the German government has used the word "war" in connection with Afghanistan. It was always a "conflict" or a "deployment", the "commitment", etc.

As far as I'm concerned, if we are sending soldiers to kill and be killed, it is a war. And I don't care how much sopisticated finagling our government does in respect to international law, war not having been officially declared by the German government, etc.

And it is hugely unpopular over here.

[howard112211]

3. These are the times when "lawyerspeak" pisses me off.

We don't do massacres, we do "preventive cleansing of suspected insurgents". We don't do wars of a aggression either, we do "responsible real-political humanitarian interventional foreign politics".

[tango-tee]

4. And then there's the "collateral damage",

as they are so fond of calling the carnage.

Sometimes I'm so sick at heart...

[xchrom]

5. Western nations getting to have their war(s)

Without having to actually declare war.