German President Horst Koehler quits post - AP

BERLIN -- President Horst Koehler stunned Germans by resigning Monday after being criticized for appearing to link military deployments abroad with the country's economic interests - creating a new headache for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Koehler, a member of Merkel's Christian Democrats, cited a week of criticism over a radio interview he gave following a visit to German troops in Afghanistan.

In that broadcast, he said for a country with Germany's dependency on exports, military deployments could be "necessary ... in order to defend our interests, for example free trade routes." - German President Horst Koehler quits post

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