4 ms·
I couldn't find a web site for the school when I searched for one and I also noticed that while schools are generally marked on Google Maps in Iran this school
by YZF 7mo ago
I couldn't find a web site for the school when I searched for one and I also noticed that while schools are generally marked on Google Maps in Iran this school was not. Both are IMO not really relevant or reliable sources of targeting data anyways. I found very little evidence searching online for the school but I did find something that looked like a blog about a school trip. Again though the Internet is not a reliable source of data for targeting - should be obvious.
The main way targets should/would be selected is by direct intelligence. E.g. the targets should be identified through satellite or other observations. It's hard to imagine that a building that has operated for some length of time as a school would not have patterns that are visible from satellite vs. military facilities with different patterns. You also don't just randomly attack structures in this sort of surprise attack, you're presumably aiming for some specific people or equipment with some priority/military goal in mind, so you really want to have observed the targets and patterns and have up to date information on their usage.
I think what likely happened here is that the entire base was the "unit" of targeting and the mistake was in identifying which buildings were part of the base. In the satellite view the military buildings and the school look very similar (since the building as I understand it used to be part of the base but was repurposed as a school).
It's not true that whoever made the error had all the time in the world. Presumably once the order was given there was time pressure given that the strike was to be timed with the other intelligence.
In theory the US military should/is supposed to have good processes around this stuff. So we are told. Obviously failed in this case. It is a tragedy.
- megous 7mo agoMissing the forest for the trees, are you? Wars of aggression are against UN rules, and US is in the wrong regardless of what it hit. Feels like we're talking here about whether rapist should have known that the rapee was a child or an adult, and they had a good reason to believe it was an adult person (there was mother of the girl standing next to it, so, hard to distinguish...), so yeah, obviously a tragedy they raped a child instead, but it happens sometimes when you rape a lot of people at once. A tragedy, but let's get on with raping more...
- YZF 7mo agoIran has been waging war since the Islamic Revolution and the US claims that there was a threat of attack on US bases and US interests and therefore the attack was in self defense. The body that decides is the UNSC and given the US has veto powers it's not going to obviously declare the US attack illegal. From Israel's perspective there's an even stronger self defense argument given the amount of missiles aimed at Israel from Iran and the enrichment of nuclear material to military grades while constantly threatening the elimination of Israel. So the US argument that they knew Israel was planning the attack and they knew Iran would retaliate against US interests seems at least on the surface to bad valid.
- cool_dude85 7mo ago>Iran has been waging war since the Islamic Revolution On who?
- alex43578 7mo agoAt various times, and potentially via proxies: Iraq Saudi Arabia Israel Kurdish Rebels The US “All countries” via actions against shipping in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz
- shykes 7mo agoIran proxies were extremely active in Syria, as they were close allies of the Assad regime. They are responsible for countless exactions. In 1992 there was a deadly car bomb attack in Argentina, killing 29 people and injuring 250 more. Then again in 1994 a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 87 people. Eventually the investigation demonstrated conclusively that Iran was responsible.
- epolanski 7mo agoYou have better examples for Iran like Hezbollah and Hamas. Albeit Hamas has been largely propped by Israel itself and Qatar.
- gruez 7mo ago>It's hard to imagine that a building that has operated for some length of time as a school would not have patterns that are visible from satellite vs. military facilities with different patterns. You might be overestimating how much satellite capacity there is to do this level of analysis for every target.
- lejalv 7mo agoWell, but this is irrelevant. You can't possibly say 'listen, the richest army on Earth does not have the means to prevent bombing a school'
- Griffinsauce 7mo agoThen don't bomb it. "we couldn't tell whether it was a legit target" does not fly as a reason to continue.
- Jensson 7mo agoHow many American lives would you sacrifice for that? The people who made the decision to fire a missile at this place didn't decide to start the war, once you have started the war you have to make ugly tradeoffs like being too liberal or too conservative with targeting decisions.
- defrost 7mo ago> How many American lives would you sacrifice for that? For what? Removing a suspected mine or missile stash that had it existed would be used to target ships in the Strait? For that you're in favour of killing 170+ schoolchildren? > The people who made the decision to fire a missile at this place didn't decide to start the war, The people that decided to fire missiles are the people that decided to start a war by firing missiles .. during negotiations no less. The people that drew up a potential target list did so years before .. the people that chose to start a war have had a full 12 months to re vet the target list a remove sites that are now schools ... but they failed to do so.
- Hikikomori 7mo ago[flagged]
- aaron695 7mo ago[dead]
- SanjayMehta 7mo agoExcuses. The fact is that the US routinely commits acts of perfidy. This was the second time they attacked Iran during negotiations. I've said before that I'm no fan of the Iranian mullah regime, but the US is basically run by war criminals. And they're proud of it. Albright and her "murdering 500,000 Iraqi children was worth it," Hillary and her "we came we saw he died," and Nobel Peace Prize Barack Hussein Obama with his targeting US citizens via drone + 28000 bombing attacks, to this orange monster demolishing the White House (literally and figuratively) and any pretence at being trustworthy or civilised.
- swat535 7mo agoImagine if the inverse had happened: IRAN killed 170 American children. Then claimed it was "AI"'s fault. I think the comment section here would look different.