German defense minister under political criticism

    BERLIN, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- A series of scandals in German armed forces has put Defense 1 Minister(国防部长) Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg, a rising star in German politics, under mounting criticism from both opposition 2 and the media.

    The severe（严重的） incidents were made public by Hellmut Koenigshaus, the parliamentary ombudsman for the military, in a report presented to the members of the armed services committee of German parliament.

    The report indicates a 21-year-old soldier, who died of a bullet wound in the head in December in Afghanistan, might be killed accidentally by a shot fired by one of his colleagues.

    Koenigshaus is also investigating（调查） the death of a 25-year-old female cadet, who fell from 27 meters high while climbing the rigging on the traditional German navy training ship, the "Gorch Fock."The report shows that after the accident, cadets, who refused to enter the rigging were accused of mutiny, which made them under too much pressure.

    On Friday, Guttenberg dismissed the captain of the navy's training ship, which then triggered another trouble. Some opposition leaders accused him of acting 3 too hastily on this issue and trying to cover up his own failure.

    "The decisions made over the weekend were appropriate and necessary," Guttenberg defended himself on Sunday, saying that the captain was not fired nor thrown out and the measure could facilitate a thorough investigation 4.

    "If these allegations prove to be false, then his career will continue as planned," he added.

    Accusations 5 that letters from German soldiers in Afghanistan had been opened unlawfully before delivery also added political pressure to the minister.

    Guttenberg's political opponents claimed that he had either tried to cover up the incidents and delayed information, or lacked authority.

    The German defence minister rejected all the accusations and called them "infamous 7."In early 2010, Guttenberg survived a political scandal surrounding the bombing of a fuel truck in Kunduz, Afghanistan. He was accused of lying about information in his ministry 8.

    Guttenberg claimed he had not been fully 6 informed about the bombing at that time. In the follow-up to the Kunduz affair, he promised to improve information policies inside his ministry.

    The recent scandals fueled accusations that changes have not been put into effect and Guttenberg is not fully in control.

    Guttenberg is one of the most popular conservative politicians and the darling of German media. He is widely tipped to succeed Chancellor 9 Angela Merkel.

    However, a damaged reputation could massively slow down his fast political career and even weaken the conservative party in the long run.

    To back up her defense minister and avoid further damage, Merkel announced through her spokesman that she fully trusted in her "excellent minister of defense."(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)