The German worm turns

Last week, what did I say?

...and don't forget German politics; they have an election coming up.

Well, things seem to be turning that way.

German lawmakers demanded explanations Monday for how and why their soldiers in Afghanistan, normally restricted to peacekeeping duties, triggered a NATO airstrike that killed approximately 100 people. Political fallout from the attack jolted Germany's election campaign just weeks before the vote and threatened to sour relations with the United States

...prosecutors in Potsdam said they were considering whether to open a homicide investigation into the decision by a German military commander to order the airstrike by a U.S. fighter jet, which blew up two hijacked fuel trucks and a crowd of bystanders early Friday in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz.

Remember that the center of German politics is to the left of Joe Lieberman.

Didn't take long for the German politicians and press to see that there was more to be gained by turning this domestic than to engage in the American bashing hobby. This will get nasty.

There is an extra added bonus to the WaPo article, as it provides an interesting view on how the Germans view the press. Very different from the American view.

German military officials have fumed at what they called unwarranted public criticism of their actions by U.S. and NATO officials, and were particularly irked at a decision by McChrystal's advisers to allow a Washington Post reporter to accompany him on a visit to Kunduz to investigate the bombing.

"It is improper for a NATO commander to put the safety and also the lives of German soldiers in danger by going public and prematurely giving the impression that civilians were killed," Harald Kujat, a retired general and former chief of staff of the German armed forces, told N24 television news. "I sincerely hope that the new NATO secretary general will have the spine and also the authority in leadership to call this general to order."

Ummmm, yea. Good luck with that.

As imperfect as it is - ours is still the best out there if you value the flow of information. As for what happened in Kunduz - it is not worthy of the amount of time it is being given as this is, regardless of what the Germans wish to believe, a war.