Afghanistan scandal shakes Berlin

For three months one event has repeatedly grabbed the headlines: the bombing on Sept. 4 of two hijacked German fuel trucks in Kunduz, in northern Afghanistan. The air attack, ordered by a German colonel, resulted in the deaths of 142 people, including women, children and many other civilians despite the fact that the trucks, stuck in the mud while crossing a river, were of no immediate danger to German troops. American pilots suggested flying low over them to frighten civilians and the Taliban hijackers away. But no, the colonel insisted on bombs - and got them. The fuel caused a terrible explosion.

Army spokespersons, including Franz Josef Jung, minister of Defense, tried to belittle the matter and denied any certainty about even a few civilian casualties. This was a crucial matter; it was the first such case involving German troops in Afghanistan and the worst bloodshed caused by Germans in uniform since World War II.

As more and more facts and videos leaked out about the horror in Kunduz and the cover-up, both the army inspector-general and a deputy minister were forced to resign. The minister of Defense kept denying any knowledge of the full facts but began to look paler and paler in public, even though Angela Merkel had demoted him to a lesser and less vulnerable job as Minister of Labor. But this switch could not save him; he had obviously lied in covering up the atrocity and, still pouting defiantly, he too was thrown to the wolves.