On October 3, the U.S. bombed a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders, (MSF), the Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian group, in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing at least 30 people. In the aftermath of the bombing, MSF called for a never-before-used mechanism of the Geneva Conventions to investigate the strike, and General John Campbell, the senior-most U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said the “hospital was mistakenly struck”—an apparent evolution of the U.S. position on what happened that day in Kunduz.
The bombing came amid the backdrop of the Taliban’s capture—since reversed—of Kunduz. It was the Taliban’s biggest prize since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan ousted the militant group from power. The fighting was bloody and the civilian toll high. Many of the injured—civilian, Afghan military, and Taliban—were treated at MSF’s Kunduz hospital.
At a news conference in Kabul on Thursday, Christopher Stokes, MSF’s general director, said it’s “quite hard to understand and believe” the hospital was mistakenly hit. The group released an initial internal review of the strike that pointed out that U.S. and allied militaries were given the GPS coordinates of the hospital, and though Taliban members were treated at the facility, there were no weapons inside—in keeping with the organization’s rules. The report makes for chilling reading. One excerpt: “Patients burned in their beds, medical staff were decapitated and lost limbs, and others were shot by the circling AC-130 gunship while fleeing the burning building.” In its report, MSF said:
I’m sorry but I can’t seen to find any sympathy anymore. These morons chose to park their sorry behinds in a war zone and expected no possibility of being struck. That’s insanity. Were there no psychiatrists on board?
World War II was the last “fight-to-win” war and I’m tired of these political war games that, today, are the norm for battle tactics.
We waste the lives and heath of our men and women warriors for naught and then leave all our resources behind for the enemy to use against us in future battles – just look at the equipment the IS is parading around in. What’s wrong with these people?
What happened to the “wipe out the enemy” type of war we used to wage? Does every battle now need prior approval from some half-witted, half-drunk senator before going forward?
Congress has not declared a war. The pResident is trying to start WWIII. The equipment ISIS has is mostly from the United States.
Moral nations do not bomb hospitals.
But there is a need for a constant enemy and war. It is easier to control the population that way.
In WARZONEs, there is even more-so the need for field hospitals filled with highly trained personnel.
I agree, NO moral leader would authorize this abomination.