German defense minister to summon bishop over Afghan war criticism

Berlin, Jan 5, IRNA -- German Defense Minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg is to summon the head of the German Protestant church Margot Kaessmann in the wake of her comments against the German military mission in Afghanistan, the daily Leipziger Volkszeitung said Tuesday.
Guttenberg urged Kaessmann to clarify her viewpoints on the German military mission in the war-stricken country when they meet on Monday.
The 51-year-old female bishop has been under fire by mostly conservative politicians for calling for the withdrawal of German soldiers from Afghanistan, saying the war was "not justified."
In a recent interview with the daily Hannoverschen Allgemeinen Zeitung, the 51-year-old religious leader said German soldiers had to be withdrawn from the war-stricken country "as soon as possible."
Kaessmann expressed "despair" over the fact that military means had been prioritized in the Afghan conflict.
"As the Protestant church, we say that such a mission can only be justified if the civilian aspect clearly dominates it," she told the Bild newspaper.
"But the dominance of the civilian aspect has long since been called into question in the Bundeswehr's (German army) mission. And it will be completely destroyed if Germany sends further troops to Afghanistan," Kaessmann went on to say.
She reaffirmed her outspoken viewpoint in a sermon on New Year's Day.
"Nothing is right in Afghanistan. All these strategies have just obscured that soldiers are using their guns and even killing civilians. We need people who are not paralyzed by the logic of war, but present a clear witness for peace," Kaessmann was quoted saying.
"I am not naive. However, weapons do not apparently create peace in Afghanistan. We need more imagination to pursue peace as well as other forms of tackling conflicts," she added.
Most Germans agree with Kaessmann's strong anti-Afghan war stance.
The Afghan military campaign has turned into a major political dilemma for the center-right German government in the aftermath of the September 4 German-ordered NATO airstrike which killed dozens of civilians.

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