German defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg rejected media criticism yesterday of his initial assessment of a German-ordered air strike in Afghanistan in September that killed civilians.
Mr Guttenberg, widely seen as a rising star, last week reversed his defence of the strike, calling it “militarily inappropriate” for the first time. But in the past few days media have questioned his original, more positive, assessment.
Revelations about the September 4th strike on two tankers in Kunduz, which Kabul says killed 30 civilians and 69 Taliban members, have triggered a row over a German cover-up and cost the job of cabinet minister Franz Josef Jung, defence minister at the time.
The strike was carried out by a US warplane at the request of German forces on the ground.
Stern magazine reported that Mr Guttenberg, who succeeded Mr Jung in October, defended the strike even after he had received an International Committee of the Red Cross report which mentioned 74 dead civilians, including young children.
Mr Guttenberg’s spokesman said that the minister had referred to the Red Cross report at a news conference after receiving it on November 6th and had focused on the differing estimates of the number of civilian casualties.
The air strike row, which also caused the head of Germany’s armed forces to quit, has clouded the start of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s second term and could affect Germany’s looming decision on whether to boost its troop levels in Afghanistan to possibly 4,500 soldiers.