A blatant scapegoat
Posted By Marc on November 26, 2009
CBC just ran a report that noted that Gen. Wolfgang Schneiderhan, the German Inspector General (roughly Chief of Staff) has asked to be “relieved of duties” after the Bild published still photographs of the September 4th airstrike against two tanker trucks captured by the Taliban (see also AFP, Earth Times, Die Zeit). Not only has he been asked to resign, there are indications that lawsuits will be filled on behalf of the civilians killed in the attacks. Since these civilians may have been impressed by the Taliban at the time of the attack, one does have to wonder if the entire furour is just another example of an extreme anti-military bias operating.
One of the current “problems” with the Afghan mission relates back to the extreme political considerations involved, a situation quite apparent in the differing Rules Of Engagement (ROE) of different NATO forces. Most of these ROEs are not established and bounded by international law(s) but, rather, by the political leadership of the individual nations involved in the mission. Furthermore, the Taliban totally reject international law, applying their own idiosyncratic version of Sharia Law in its place. In short, this particular “problem” is a bricolage of ROEs across the country backed by totally differing versions of “law”.
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I don’t know enough about German politics/culture to form an opinion one way or the other in regard to scapegoating, but I did read here that the German General may have lied to federal prosecutors. But with all of the furor over this (Parliament investigating, mass resignations) it certainly does have a stench of populist politics to it.