Wednesday November 11, 2009

Germans need more truth on Afghanistan - minister

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germans should be given more details about their country's mission in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said in parliament on Tuesday.

Guttenberg has already changed the policy of his predecessor, fellow conservative Franz-Josef Jung and used the word "war" to describe the mission.

"The people in our country can handle more truth than we dare to tell them from time to time," Guttenberg said in a speech. "I would urge that we simply tell it like it is."

Guttenberg, who took office last month, also said that soldiers understandably want their mission to be described realistically, without euphemisms but also without exaggeration.

Germany has 4,250 soldiers in Afghanistan. A total of 36 German soldiers have been killed there.

Germany, which because of its turbulent past has long stayed out of overseas military opeations, has the third largest contingent of troops in the NATO mission in Afghanistan that is made up of 65,000 U.S. troops and 39,000 from allied nations.

Opinion polls show most Germans oppose the involvement of their forces in Afghanistan. The German government has resisted pressure from the United States in past years to divert its troops to violent areas in the south.

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