The recent bombing of two tanker trucks in an attack ordered by a German military colonel has led to major international criticism of the Bundeswehr. The incident has given a black eye to a country whose politicians have never been shy of telling others what's best in Afghanistan.

Colonel Georg Klein is sitting silently in his office. He doesn't want to talk, at least not about what happened. This morning his press officer gave him a rundown of the headlines in Germany and around the world. It was an onslaught of negative press.

He is now the most famous colonel in the world, the man who ordered the air strike and is responsible for the deaths of dozens of people. Klein appears worn out and tight-lipped.

Why was he so certain that only members of the Taliban would be hit?

"I don't want to comment on that."

Why was it absolutely necessary for him to attack on that very night?

"I really cannot say anything about that right now."

Klein speaks softly; his voice is barely more than a whisper. He briefly shrugs his drooping shoulders. "You have to understand, this is an ongoing inquiry." The colonel has sunk down in his chair, as if he wanted to disappear. Even before his ill-fated decision, Klein was no top dog or snappy authority. Everything about him seems soft, despite his uniform. Now it looks like all the life has gone out of him, like the air out of a balloon.

"The colonel is absolutely devastated," says everyone at the German camp in Kunduz. The commander of the German reconstruction team in the northern city of Kunduz is experiencing the most horrendous days of his life. His decision to order air strikes against two hijacked NATO fuel trucks on the night of Sept. 4 changed everything - him, his career, German politics, relations with the Americans and the deployment of German soldiers in Afghanistan.