Photo Gallery The Afghan Disaster
On Friday, Sept. 4, German Bundeswehr Colonel Georg Klein gave the order for NATO air support after the Taliban had hijacked two fuel tankers near Kunduz. The tankers exploded after being struck by NATO bombers, killing dozens.
Klein has come under criticism for his decision in Germany and abroad. Berlin politicians have often criticized their allies, including the Americans in the past, for causing civilian deaths during missions in Afghanistan. "The colonel is absolutely devastated," fellow soldiers at the German base in Kunduz.
Afghan victims of the air strike are given medical treatment at a hospital in Kabul. One victim, recovering from second-degree burns at a hospital in Kunduz, said 30 to 40 Taliban had been standing at the river bank near the two tanker trucks, filling large containers with fuel.
Shafiullah, a 10-year-old boy, was among those injured in the air strike.
German Bundeswehr ISAF solders unload their weapons after a mission outside Kunduz: Recent changes in the rules of engagement for Germany's troops has brought the Bundeswehr closer to killing.
German Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung has come under criticism for his ministry's handling of the events. On the day of the incident, his ministry uncritically defended the Bundeswehr, but evidence is stacking up of civilian casualties.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai: Even if many officials in his government are corrupt, the West should work as closely as possible with him to retain influence in the country. Less arrogance and more partnership, the involvement of the country's difficult neighbors, a crackdown on terrorists, protecting the population and providing systematic assistance to the Afghan people is the only way out of Afghanistan.
German Colonel Georg Klein (left) and United States General Stanley McChrystal (center): "We have to think and act differently," McChrystal wrote in a revised tactical directive he issued in August. "The conflict will be won by persuading people, not by destroying the enemy."
At a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Stockholm on Sept. 5, France's Bernard Kouchner said the bombing was a "big mistake" and it needed to be thoroughly investigated.
US Marines during a deployment in remote Qalanderabad: Militarily, this war is unwinnable. The strategy based on the belief that if enough insurgents are killed, the enemy would be crushed and forced into withdrawing, has proven itself to be unsuccessful. The flow of insurgents is endless, and every new death produces dozens, perhaps even hundreds of new enemies.
