Doctors Without Borders are demanding a full, independent inquiry into Saturday’s incident on the outskirts of the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, in which a US warplane repeatedly attacked a Doctors Without Borders hospital, killing 22 people within, including 12 members of staff and 10 civilian patients.
Though Doctors Without Borders informed the US and Afghan governments immediately upon the first strike near the hospital, they reported being repeatedly and precisely targeted by the warplane for over 30 minutes after that, and are saying that the presumption of any investigation should be that a war crime was committed.
The Pentagon insists they are conducting a full investigation themselves. Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the situation is “confused,” but that they would hold anyone responsible if the bombing is “something they shouldn’t have done.” He refused to rule out further strikes, saying it was up to Gen. Campbell to do whatever he thinks is appropriate. The hospital has been closed and the workers evacuated.
The Afghan government is claiming attacks on the hospital were “retaliation” and that the site was actually a “Taliban base.” Doctors Without Borders has rejected this claim as absurd, noting they’ve been at that site for some time, and it was well known it was a hospital.
The UN Human Rights Chief also declared the attack “inexcusable,” saying that if it is confirmed that the attack was deliberate it would amount to a war crime. The US has ruled out ever allowing any of their soldiers to be charged with war crimes under any circumstances, and has a law on the books dating back to 2002 allowing a military invasion of the Netherlands to stop the International Criminal Court from carrying out such charges.
Pentagon investigations are rarely particularly credible, and usually end with some sort of blanket excuse and statement of “regret,” and any punitive action tends to be taken against only the lowest ranked personnel possible.
Interesting Note:
The exact same excuses that America is using, are the exact same excuses Israel used when they bombed the U.N. Hospital in Gaza.
Where did that investigation go?
I can already hear the cowardly chicken hawks in the USG Congress
demanding war, if the animals who committed this atrocity were
Russians, who (mistaken) a hospital for a (terrorist) hideout in Syria.
The newest bull I read is that the pilot may have been given wrong information. I am quite sure that a red cross emblem was on the roof of that hospital visible with the night goggles of the pilot. He was obliged to radio to his commander: "I see a red cross on that building, what am I supposed to do"? Commander: "come back to base".
What we need to learn is whether that hospital was registered as a protected site with all governments who are parties of the Geneva Convention because if it was then that might strengthen the case of war crime.
"…allowing a military invasion of the Netherlands to stop the International Criminal Court from carrying out such charges."
You gotta hand it to these clowns…that's pretty friggin' arrogant.
BTW, the "American Service-Members' Protection Act" could also rightly be sub-titled the "Let's Make Sure George Bush and Dick Cheney Never Go to Trial For Their War Crimes Act."
That is the real reason this became a law. Just sayin'…
The girls of the Red Light District of Amsterdam are not afraid!
Watch for the Americans pulling a page out of the IDF handbook.
“Terrorists were using the hospital as a staging ground for attack against American forces.”
Case closed.
Nobody should hold their breath on this topic!
Aug 5, 2015 US Drone War Accelerates – Victims Unknown
According to a new study, the US launched more drone attacks in July than in the period from January to June. Since 2009, drones have killed more than 5,000. The continued use of "signature strikes" means that the US has no idea who is actually being killed.
https://youtu.be/vQnNBlwucT0
July 23, 2012 Children of the Drone
We’re told that predator drones armed to the teeth are keeping us safe by killing dangerous terroristson the other side of the globe, but is that really the case?
Allow me to introduce you to….The Children of the Drone's
http://www.hangthebankers.com/children-of-the-dro…
Jan 31, 2012 The girl killed by Barack Obama – she never saw it coming
The interesting questions are, were there any Taliban in the hospital, did they have weapons, and did they fire them. It'd certainly be possible for wounded Taliban to be treated in the hospital, and they'd be crazy(er?) to be in Kunduz without their weapons. If they noticed the Afghan army or the local militias starting to search the hospital, no doubt they'd open fire. This would have placed the US in an awkward predicament. The supporters of the Afghan government are just ordinary people who'd like a peaceful life, not heroes who'd love to drive a truckload of TNT into a barracks full of kaffirs. They're already being abandoned by NATO and the West. If the US didn't support its allies, it'd risk a cascading collapse such as we saw in the north of Iraq, or indeed in Afghanistan after the Russians left. Very sensibly, everyone would rush to desert the sinking ship and sign up with the Taliban. The US is attempting to withdraw from Afghanistan while still hoping that the shell of its puppet will continue to stand. Thus it cannot afford to allow a few thousand or so raiders to seize a major town. Thus it could not afford NOT to bomb the MSF hospital if anyone within offered any resistance. The solution to this problem is obvious. The US must abandon Afghanistan the way it did Libya or indeed as Carter did Ethiopia. It's people should be left to the tender mercies of the Taliban.
Sir. It would have been useful if you had studied the Geneva Conventions on Warfare before writing this errant nonsense. That Conventions recognize protected and non-protected persons. All medical staff and all patients treated in that hospital were protected persons which means that all combatants were obliged to protect their health and lives. Taliban fighters firing from the hospital are non-protected persons but that does not mean that the US which is a party which has signed the Conventions can just go ahead and bomb the hell out of that hospital even if the Afghan government asked for the bombing which our government claims today.
The party or parties which were shot at from the hospital must demand that these non-protected persons leave the premises of what was almost certainly a protected building with the internationally recognize red cross on its roof. The snipers must be given a reasonable length of time to leave.
If you had done what you describe you would have committed a war crime.
Your theory falls apart quickly because of one simple detail…the US is NOT attempting to withdraw from Afghanistan. They are actually attempting to increase their presence, according to comments here and there by Pentagon officials. Besides, the Doctors at the hospital contend vociferously that everything the US or Afghan officials claim happened never happened. Personally, I'm going to believe what the doctors are saying because the US/Afghan officials have a lousy track record when it comes to telling the truth.
Amazing to me how Russia can wipe out ISIS cammand and control and their weopons depos and supply lines in 24 hours when the US and all the usual suspects could not do this in two years (assuming they even wanted to). And they did it without hitting any hospitals.
There indeed is an evil empire and I am living in it. What has my country morphed into? …some neo-con psych-ward apparently
""The US has ruled out ever allowing any of their soldiers to be charged with war crimes under any circumstances""
In other words we can do what we want without legal reprisals and if you don't like it -so what.Oh but we can tell other nations they should be guided by so called "international laws" and act like a first world country and be like we so called "exceptional" Americans.I'm ashamed and disgusted by what has been done by my nation and with our tax dollars.I just wanted to see those responsible for 911 to be held accountable and be sentenced which was of course Saudi Arabia and they're American puppet politicians,military contractors etc.How can we feel proud of our nation when millions of innocent people have died by our nations hands for something they had no part of.This isn't self loathing,this is just a shameful fact that America is going to pay a dear price for .Another bigger attack is coming soon.This you can count on.We have created countless martyrs who would like nothing more than to make Americans understand what it feels like to lose those you love.No they need to get rid of this notion that American servicemen cant be held accountable.Perhaps the pilot only followed orders based on his or her intel.However those who gave the orders should pay a price.We cannot and should not act as if we are above the laws we supposedly believe in.How can anyone respect a nation of hypocrites who allegedly believe in freedom and justice and then turn around and do as they want and cherry pick what laws they want to throw around and ignore basic human rights ? America is in for a world of hurt soon.We are crumbling from the inside out like the empire we have emulated-Rome.We either stop those illegal actions and follow the rule of law or suffer a grim fate.Some would say that's alarmist thinking and very doomish.The reality is all the signs are there and all the puzzle pieces fit.We are headed for a fall and have been on a downward slide rapidly since 2001.Now we are literally head to head not just with Russia but China as well.I think we are in for a nasty ride .