• English Site
• > SPIEGEL Blog

Afghanistan Scandal

Skull Images Shock Germany

Published photos of German soldiers desecrating a skull in Afghanistan have triggered a full blown image crisis for Germany. Officials are struggling to minimize what they fear could be major consequences.

The past 24 hours have been a nightmare for Germany's image. Indeed, just as the photos of German soldiers desecrating a skull in Afghanistan raced around the world, politicians and military officials have been trying to catch up and control the damage. Expressions of outrage have competed with promises to punish those responsible -- and the army was quick to announce that it has already identified the six soldiers in the photos.

"Those who behave like that have no place in the Bundeswehr," intoned German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung on Wednesday. Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in Wednesday, calling the photos "shocking and repugnant."

For Germany, the images come as a wake-up call. Ever since the German military began getting involved in foreign deployments in the 1990s, the government has emphasized the humanitarian aspect of the missions. From the Balkans to Congo, German soldiers were sold to an uneasy populace as "social workers in uniform" as a number of commentators describe it on Thursday.

The images of soldiers casually playing with a skull seem to prove otherwise. Jung told the German parliament Thursday that the training for German soldiers in Afghanistan will be reviewed. "Our wish is that the soldiers of the Bundeswehr, also while they are stationed abroad, practice and live out the values of our constitution."

Nevertheless, concerns are growing of a potentially violent reaction. Security at German Embassies throughout the Middle East and in Kabul has been increased for fear of retaliation. So far, nothing has happened, but Ulrich Kirsch, vice chairman of the German Federal Armed Forces Association remains worried.

"I would not be surprised if there were reactions to this," Kirsch told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "These pictures play right into the hands of those we're fighting against."

Afghanistan's Economy Minister Amin Farhang agreed. "This is exactly the kind of situation radical groups are looking for," he told SPIEGEL ONLINE on Wednesday.

"The government and the people of Afghanistan are saddened," said an official statement from Afghanistan's foreign ministry. "The ministry and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan sharply condemn the incident, which contravenes Islamic values and Afghan traditions."

The five photos were published on the same day the German government was discussing the role of its special forces in Afghanistan. At issue was the forces' involvement in anti-terror operations conducted as part of NATO's Afghanistan mission Enduring Freedom. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer -- who is waging constant diplomatic efforts to keep troops in Afghanistan and who is trying to convince Germany to send troops to the more dangerous southern part of the country-- called the behavior of the German soldiers "unacceptable." He said he did not think the photos endangered the mission as a whole.

Nevertheless, some are concerned that there may be more photos to come. "According to what I've heard," said Green Party deputy head Hans-Christian Ströbele, "there are supposedly several more photos from Afghanistan." The photos published Wednesday show soldiers posing with a skull mounted on a military vehicle. One image shows a soldier holding the skull up to his exposed penis.

A number of other German parliamentarians likewise vented in the Bundestag on Thursday during a session which was supposed to be devoted to Germany's newly approved national security policy. Bernd Siebert, defense policy expert for the conservatives, called the images "incomprehensible" and said "they make all of us sick" before reminding his listeners that most German soldiers do a fine job in the field.

Wolfgang Gehrcke of the Left Party asked rhetorically, "what must be going through the heads of young people that they stoop to such brutalization and dehumanization?" Green Party floor leader Renate Künast warned about the consequences, especially if the images are spread via the Internet. It's incomprehensible that the soldiers didn't think about the danger they might be putting their comrades in, she said.

Four of the six soldiers involved in the incident -- all of whom come from the town of Mittenwald in southern Bavaria -- are no longer with the German army. Still, they may face prosecution under German laws against disturbing the dead.

jsg/Spiegel/dpa/reuters