Norwegian minister: Military needs more focus on ethics

Sep 27, 2010, 11:36 GMT

Oslo - The Norwegian defence minister on Monday distanced herself from crude remarks attributed to Norwegian soldiers serving in Afghanistan and called for more focus on ethics.

In a coming issue of a new men's magazine, Norwegian soldiers described fighting in Afghanistan as 'better than sex,' according to excerpts published Monday by Oslo tabloid VG.

Some soldiers quoted in the men's magazine Alfa said they wanted to seek revenge for comrades who had been killed in earlier attacks and said they had applied for tour of duty 'to fight a real war.'

Defence Minister Grete Faremo told a news conference that she 'strongly rejected these views.'

'Our soldiers have been praised for their mission. But if there are views among them like those expressed in (the newspaper) VG, then they are unacceptable,' Faremo said.

Faremo also touched on the issue in a speech at a conference on ethics and leadership, saying the military needed to continue to address ethical issues.

The 17-page article in the men's magazine is due October 1. The remarks suggesting a subculture among some members of the Norwegian forces appeared to have been fuelled by the death of a Norwegian soldier in January and included threats against civilians suspected of ties with the Taliban.

Defence forces chief Harald Sunde said it was 'devastating' that doubts had been raised about soldiers' ethics, 'not the least against the background of their mission to support the Afghan people.'

The military was to investigate how widespread such views were.

Norway has some 500 soldiers in Afghanistan.