BERLIN, March 16 (UPI) -- High-ranking German military officers have accused their defense minister of deceiving the public over a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan.
"Against better knowledge, Defense Minister (Franz Josef) Jung claims (the mission) is purely about reconnaissance," a group of officers wrote in an open letter to Germany's lawmakers, according to German online daily Netzeitung. They said reconnaissance was an "important part" of war actions.
"The results from the reconnaissance flights are to be immediately analyzed to support the fight of ground troops and bomber squads," they said.
The letter comes a week after Germany's Parliament removed the final hurdle to send eight Panavia Tornado reconnaissance aircraft -- six in constant flying, with two back-up planes -- and roughly 500 additional soldiers to Afghanistan to aid the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
The jets could arrive in Afghanistan as early as April 5, according to media reports.
Germany currently has nearly 3,000 soldiers stationed with ISAF, but they are confined to relatively peaceful northern Afghanistan. Germany has led the Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the north, and has been very successful in building up infrastructure, schools and other municipal institutions.
Nevertheless, Berlin has previously come under criticism from NATO officials for confining its troops to the north while the death toll in the south is rising. In light of the expected spring offensive of the Taliban, the Tornados are a much-needed support for the U.S., Canadian, Dutch and other soldiers fighting in the south.
Observers say the German government is eager to prove to its allies it wants to provide additional aid in Afghanistan. The deployment of reconnaissance planes is seen as a relatively safe way to do so, at least when it comes to human casualties.
The officers in their letter, however, argued that the Tornado mission lends a new, aggressive tone to the overall German presence in Afghanistan.
