US Drone Attack Raises Uncomfortable Questions for Germany

Der Spiegel ^ | December 3. 2010 | Matthias Gebauer and John Goetz

[2ndDivisionVet]

A US drone attack in Pakistan in October is thought to have killed a German citizen. The government of Chancellor Angela Merkel would prefer the case to simply go away, but one parliamentarian is refusing to let it be forgotten.

When a German citizen is killed in a foreign country under mysterious circumstances, one might expect an outcry from politicians and the media. But the case of Bünyamin E., a German of Turkish descent who is believed to have died in Pakistan on Oct. 4, has caused remarkably little fuss in Germany -- partly because the 20-year-old was a suspected terrorist, but also because he was apparently killed by an American drone.

The case is awkward for the German government, as it involves the country's most powerful ally and also raises uncomfortable questions about whether Germany provided support for the targeted killing.

But one opposition politician in particular is determined not to let the government off the hook. Wolfgang Neskovic, a member of parliament for the far-left Left Party, has been pursuing the case and demanding answers from Chancellor Angela Merkel's administration.

The German government "has done everything to conceal the facts of the case," Neskovic told SPIEGEL ONLINE in an interview. "If German citizens are executed in a foreign country -- and that's the only way to describe the targeted killing by the US -- the German government has to provide both the general public and the parliament with sufficient information."

Possible Legal Consequences

One reason the case has not caused a greater outcry is due to fears of an impending terrorist attack in Germany, caused by a recent warning from Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, meaning that sympathy for the rights of suspected terrorists is limited....

[2ndDivisionVet]

And you thought our Leftists were loopy?

[silverleaf]

Seems to me the great fears for a massive Mumbai-type terror attack kinda died down when that german “yoot” and some of his happy virgin hunter comrades got blowed up in Pakistan

[ReneeLynn]

Oh no, a suspected terrorist IN Pakistan was killed by a drone. Umm, and the problem is?

[freedumb2003]

I though the most devastating Drone attack we can have is then the TOTUS-reader reads from the TOTUS.

It is like Striker describing his past on "Airplane!"

[Zuben Elgenubi]

The Moslems in Bosnia are called "ethnic Albanians", so how about the Moslems in Germany be called "ethnic Turks"?

Then when a Moslem Turk Terrorist (MTT) gets whacked in Pakistan (WIP), the Germans can Condone Lateral Attack Phase (CLAP).

[theDentist]

You lie down with dogs, you wake up with a Hellfire.

[ScottinVA]

because the 20-year-old was a suspected terrorist, but also because he was apparently killed by an American drone.

The only people who should be bitching are from PETA. It's not like the drone killed a human.

[cartan]

The only Germans (apart from commie politicians) who are going to get mad at this are those who are wondering why this miscreant had been handed a German passport in the first place…

[katana]

Hmmmmmm, if there's video of the attack they could place a small statement at the beginning saying "No Germans were harmed in the making of this film. We did kill a Turk carrying one of our passports, but that doesn't count."

[Moltke]

The ‘Die Linke’ party are hardcore Marxists. No sane person in Germany gives a sh!t about that terrorist getting killed. Most cheer the fact of another islamofascist being put out of his misery.

[avid]

Don’t let that Spiegel dslanted story get down on you, folks. In every newspaper which printed the story, the comments were overly positive on that kill. The spectrum of comments ranged from “whatever” to “awesome”.