German Foreign Minister Fischer is deeply offended by the prisoner abuse in Iraq:
Fischer Heads to Washington, Condemns Iraqi Prisoner Abuse
Ahead of a three-day trip to Washington, German Foreign Minster Joschka Fischer has called for those U.S. soldiers responsible for the “horrifying and repugnant” mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners to be punished.
“Those responsible for this humiliation and abuse must be investigated and punished,” Fischer told the weekly news magazine Der Spiegel over the weekend. The comments are Fischer’s first over a widening scandal, which apparently involved systematic human rights abuses by U.S. forces at Iraqi prisons.
Fischer, of course, is no stranger to violence himself. He was leader of a left-wing fighter clan in Frankfurt in the early seventies. This picture depicts him with others attacking a policeman.
Joschka Fischer, with dark helmet, fighting against human rights abuses (April 7, 1973)…
…and winning, with the help of some clan members…
Fischer wasn’t identified at the time and therefore never punished for this “horrifying and repugnant mistreatment” of a policeman.
Fortunately for Fischer, his responsibility for an attack on another policeman in 1976, who was badly burned by a “molotow cocktail”, could never be firmly established – though witnesses testified that in a preparatory meeting the night before the demonstration he called for molotow cocktail attacks against the police. Fischer denies the accusation. (BTW – I’m sure the CIA knows a lot more about Fischer’s past than has been publicly disclosed.)
As a member of parliament in the eighties Fischer made only lame excuses for his former terrorist links. As a minister in 2001, when his past was made a topic of public discussion, he was more forthcoming. His apologies never reached Rumsfeld levels, though…
If you look at his biography at the German Foreign Ministry web site you’ll find no mention of his life prior to 1982, other than his birth in 1948 (for a comparison: Secretary of State Colin Powell’s biography). Fischer’s biography reminds me of Kaspar Hauser’s, but with a happy ending…
In 2001 the German media discussed Fischer’s violent past – matter-of-factly, not nearly as vicious as today’s accusations levelled at the GI’s in Iraq. You’d be hard pressed to find any mentioning of Fischer’s former activities in the Germany’s media nowadays. He easily gets away demanding punishment for the “horrifying and repugnant mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners”.
After all, he is Germany’s foreign minister.
Update: Fischer, in the first picture above, reminds me vaguely of Darth Vader, the “Dark Lord of The Sith” in “Star Wars”. He was seduced by the dark side of the Force. Though, Darth Vader went from good to bad, while Fischer started out bad and then… (I leave this to your phantasy). Should have called this posting “Darth Vader visits Washington”.
