3 ms·

The MSF hospital bombing was pretty clearly not a "terrible mistake", but was in fact "purposeful killing of civilians" https://theintercept.com/2015/10/06/why

by themgt 11y ago

The MSF hospital bombing was pretty clearly not a "terrible mistake", but was in fact "purposeful killing of civilians" https://theintercept.com/2015/10/06/why-bombing-kunduz-hospital-was-probably-a-war-crime/ https://theintercept.com/2015/10/06/why-bombing-kunduz-hospi...

jacobolus 11y ago
Your summary is not commensurate with the story you linked. Something can be both a “terrible mistake” and also a violation of international law. At a high level, it seems unlikely that American military leaders would intend to bomb a hospital, considering the horrible human toll and subsequent political and public relations disaster. Perhaps the investigation will turn up a more complete story about why the hospital was targeted.
- sooheon 11y ago
  They don't really feel the blowback of a PR disaster when 1. most are uninformed, and 2. of the few informed there are enough people like you who will cover for them and give them benefit of the doubt. If a hospital on US territory is bombed, it would be out of the question whether it was simply an oopsie. But if in the carriage of justice and liberty some humanitarian workers find themselves collaterally damaged, it was a "terrible mistake", which the men with grave furrowed brows, clean suits, and heavy burdens to bear no doubt weighed against imminent national security concerns.
  - jacobolus 11y ago
    I’m certainly not “covering for them”. The bombing of the hospital is a violation of international law, and whoever made the call to bomb it should be court-martialed and held accountable. On the other hand I don’t think it is reasonable to presume that the hospital was targeted deliberately by someone in the US military without further knowledge of what happened. US military leaders aren’t all sadistic cartoon villains sitting around twirling their mustachios and cackling about civilian deaths. If it is true that some of our “allies” on the ground in Afghanistan directed the US military to bomb that location, as was reported somewhere I read, then that is no excuse for such a colossal fuckup – especially considering that the MSF had previously told all sides the hospital’s coordinates – and whoever in the US military took that information at face value should take proper responsibility, and whoever directed them should also be dealt with. If instead it was, as themgt speculates, a deliberate choice by someone in the American military to target the building with full knowledge that it is a hospital, then that person should be tried for war crimes.
- heroh 11y ago
  perhaps Saddam did have weapons of mass destruction perhaps we didn't create Al-Queda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnLvzV9xAHA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnLvzV9xAHA [Hillary Clinton] perhaps we're not involved in training/funding ISIS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxDKmM8npBQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxDKmM8npBQ [John McCain] or maybe there's something seriously wrong with the traditional narrative - http://naplay.it/763/41-47 http://naplay.it/763/41-47
- tripzilch 11y ago
  > it seems unlikely that American military leaders would intend to bomb a hospital while I'm not 100% sure about that (it seems unthinkable for a human being, but people's judgement can get pretty out of whack in wrong environment), let's assume for the sake of argument that your military leaders are sane. even then, all it requires is the bare minimum of military leader people closing their eyes for just long enough. and if you believe they wouldn't do that intentionally, then we'll disagree about that. you don't get that position without the ability to look the other way with laser-sharp focus. it's part of the job (and it's disgusting). but they would say "you don't know what it's like". meditate on that for a bit. this world, huh?

by themgt 11y ago

jacobolus 11y ago

Your summary is not commensurate with the story you linked. Something can be both a “terrible mistake” and also a violation of international law. At a high level, it seems unlikely that American military leaders would intend to bomb a hospital, considering the horrible human toll and subsequent political and public relations disaster. Perhaps the investigation will turn up a more complete story about why the hospital was targeted.

sooheon 11y ago
They don't really feel the blowback of a PR disaster when 1. most are uninformed, and 2. of the few informed there are enough people like you who will cover for them and give them benefit of the doubt. If a hospital on US territory is bombed, it would be out of the question whether it was simply an oopsie. But if in the carriage of justice and liberty some humanitarian workers find themselves collaterally damaged, it was a "terrible mistake", which the men with grave furrowed brows, clean suits, and heavy burdens to bear no doubt weighed against imminent national security concerns.
- jacobolus 11y ago
  I’m certainly not “covering for them”. The bombing of the hospital is a violation of international law, and whoever made the call to bomb it should be court-martialed and held accountable. On the other hand I don’t think it is reasonable to presume that the hospital was targeted deliberately by someone in the US military without further knowledge of what happened. US military leaders aren’t all sadistic cartoon villains sitting around twirling their mustachios and cackling about civilian deaths. If it is true that some of our “allies” on the ground in Afghanistan directed the US military to bomb that location, as was reported somewhere I read, then that is no excuse for such a colossal fuckup – especially considering that the MSF had previously told all sides the hospital’s coordinates – and whoever in the US military took that information at face value should take proper responsibility, and whoever directed them should also be dealt with. If instead it was, as themgt speculates, a deliberate choice by someone in the American military to target the building with full knowledge that it is a hospital, then that person should be tried for war crimes.
heroh 11y ago
perhaps Saddam did have weapons of mass destruction perhaps we didn't create Al-Queda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnLvzV9xAHA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnLvzV9xAHA [Hillary Clinton] perhaps we're not involved in training/funding ISIS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxDKmM8npBQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxDKmM8npBQ [John McCain] or maybe there's something seriously wrong with the traditional narrative - http://naplay.it/763/41-47 http://naplay.it/763/41-47
tripzilch 11y ago
> it seems unlikely that American military leaders would intend to bomb a hospital while I'm not 100% sure about that (it seems unthinkable for a human being, but people's judgement can get pretty out of whack in wrong environment), let's assume for the sake of argument that your military leaders are sane. even then, all it requires is the bare minimum of military leader people closing their eyes for just long enough. and if you believe they wouldn't do that intentionally, then we'll disagree about that. you don't get that position without the ability to look the other way with laser-sharp focus. it's part of the job (and it's disgusting). but they would say "you don't know what it's like". meditate on that for a bit. this world, huh?