Missing information

Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg's change of position about the appropriateness of a German-ordered airstrike in Afghanistan has raised questions about the information he has now that he did not have before, leading opposition politicians and military officials to ask for clarification.

"One certainly asks oneself what information he has to arrive at this new appraisal," Social Democrat parliamentarian Hans-Peter Bartels said in an interview with the daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger.

Guttenberg told parliament on Thursday that he believed the German-ordered airstrike, which is thought to have killed a number of civilians, was "militarily inappropriate."

That directly counters previous statements made by Guttenberg that the attack was justified from a military point of view.

Former Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung resigned last week in relation to the airstrike, as did Wolfgang Schneiderhan, the military's chief of staff, and Peter Wichert, a top defense ministry official.

Bartels also questioned the resignations of Schneiderhan and Wichert.

"There is still no concrete justification for the expulsion of the highest military adviser and the highest civil official," he said.

The head of the DBwV military association, Ulrich Kirsch, also criticized Guttenberg and called on him to provide the reason for his about-turn.

"We can't evaluate (the situation) because we're not acquainted with the secret records," he told German public broadcaster ZDF.

Kirsch, however, expressed sympathy with the German commander who ordered the attack, Georg Klein, and said Klein had his full support.

High-level support

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has given her support to Guttenberg, saying she had been informed earlier that he would publicly change his stance on the airstrike near Kunduz.

"The chancellor shares the defense minister's re-assessment," government spokesperson Ulrich Wilhelm told reporters in Berlin.

Karim Popal, the lawyer representing the relatives of those killed in the attack, says he now sees better chances for his clients following the defense minister's new stance.

Popal said the federal government now assumes that many civilians were killed in the airstrike, despite earlier statements to the contrary.

"What we want is that the truth be told and, in the meantime, the truth is being told," he said.

ca/AP/dpa/AFP

Editor: Kyle James