Defense chief wants jobless to play enemy

BERLIN, July 5 (UPI) -- Germany's defense minister has suggested that some of the country's 5 million unemployed could be put to work as enemy soldiers and villagers in military training exercises.

Deutsche Welle reports Peter Struck believes using civilians instead of soldiers would save money since soldiers have to be paid even when they are playing Bosnian civilians. With as many as 400 people required to play enemies and non-combatants in a single exercise, it would provide a lot of jobs, although short-term ones.

The response has been mixed.

"The job market for acting demonstrator is quite limited," Horst Schmitt, a spokesperson for the German Employment Agency, told the newspaper. "We want to turn the unemployed into qualified workers."

Urlich Adam, a Christian Democrat member of parliament, said he hoped Struck was not trying "to make fun of the unemployed."