tar - `extract dir' removes files, a BUG?

[Roland Huebner]

I posted the following to  gnu.utils.bug  without a response - Now I'll
try that way:

I've a problem (is it my fault, a bug or a feature ;-)

 -- `extract dir'  removes all files `newer than' the incremental backup
--
 
    Not strictly speaking `newer than', but also older files put in
    that dir (with `cp' or `mv', e.g.) after having done the incremental
    backup.
     
    (I would say: "Removes all files not included in the list done with
    the SNAPSHOT-file":
    tar -tf level-1.tar --listed-incremental=level-1.snar \
         home/xxx/TEST-dir 1>TEST-dir.lst 2>&1 )

In the info-pages I've not found any suitable option to overcome that
behavior  -  what do I fail to notice?? 

Thanks in advance.

Some details:
I tried to repair the following quite popular damage:
 -  a working dir (home/xxx/TEST-dir/A, e.g. see below) with a large
    number of files
 -  having done an incremental backup some times ago
 -  continued to work in that wd / creating not a small number of new
    files
 -  removed by a mistake not a small number of the older files, saved
    in the incremental backup
 -  now my hope was, that I could restore the old files by extracting
    the dir, without reconstructing all old filenames one by one.

I am using  LINUX SuSE-6.4;  tar (GNU tar) 1.13.19  and  1.13.17

Created a full dump:
    tar -cf /tmp/level-0.tar --listed-incremental=/tmp/level-0.snar \
        /home/xxx

Saved /tmp/level-0.snar:
    cp -p /tmp/level-0.snar /tmp/level-1.snar

Created an incremental backup:
    tar -cf /tmp/level-1.tar --listed-incremental=/tmp/level-1.snar \
        /home/xxx

`extract dir' means:
    cd /
    tar -xf /tmp/level-1.tar \
    --listed-incremental=/tmp/level-1.snar home/xxx/TEST-dir/A

`level-0 extract' removes all newer files, too:
    cd /
    tar -xf /tmp/level-0.tar \
    --listed-incremental=/tmp/level-1.snar home/xxx/TEST-dir/A


Regards,
Roland Huebner
<address@hidden>