SPD Threatens German Government over Wikileaks Info

by Jordan Yerman | July 29, 2010 at 08:54 am

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SPD Confronts Merkel Government over Task Force 373, Other Wikileaks Revelations

The fallout from Wikileaks' release of over 90,000 classified documents pertaining to the US mission in Afghanistan have reached Germany's Bundestag, where the Social Democrats (SPD) have threatened to withhold support for Germany's continued mission in Afghanistan.

The SPD will make their support dependent on how satisfactory they find the government's explanation of leaked documents outlining alleged war crimes, saying that they will not support Germany's military presence in Afghanistan if that presence strays outside international law.

Although Prime Minister Angela Merkel does not need SPD backing to push through continued support for Germany's presence in Afghanistan, it would be politically wise to show a broad base of support, even if only in the Bundestag.

Wikileaks Documents 'Not Entirely Surprising'

The government's dismissal of the documents as "not entirely surprising" (as per Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg) will not mollify its opponents, as such a statement begs the question: if contravention of international law was already known, why was Germany's course not corrected?

Rolf Mützenich, the foreign policy spokesman for the parliamentary group of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), told the Wednesday edition of the Berliner Zeitung newspaper that the SPD would make their support for the extension of the Bundeswehr's mandate, which comes up for renewal in March 2011, dependent on how the government explains the details revealed by the war logs.