dagblog - Comments for "Why Is the U.S. Refusing An Independent Investigation If Its Hospital Airstrike Was An “Accident”?"

I too have great respect and

A Guy Called LULU — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 03:20:58 +0000

In reply to I have huge respect for MSF

I too have great respect and admiration for what MSF does around the world. Calling themselves Doctors Without Borders is a way of saying that they are non-aligned with any side of any conflict when acting as doctors. To say that the MSF "admit" to treating soldiers has the connotation of fessin up to doing something wrong so I disagree with that characterization. Their philosophy is to treat the wounded and the sick without regard to their ideology but just because they are humans who are in need of medical care. We may be convinced in this case who are the good guys versus bad guys and who deserves medical treatment but it is not always clear and certainly not always agreed upon. If they, the MSF, were to try to take sides they would not be able to stay in conflict areas and treat the innocent victims either. It is because they are brave enough and dedicated enough to do that that they earn our admiration.

I have huge respect for MSF

NCD — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 03:08:25 +0000

In reply to Yes, it is "unfortunate" that

I have huge respect for MSF however the fact that they admit to treating wounded Taliban in a situation where the patient could then walk out and continue to murder, rape or pillage defenseless civilians makes me question for whose benefit they were serving that night.

Taliban were present at the hospital, and clearly in control anywhere they were present, as they were murdering and raping people throughout the city that night. MSF has no armed security. As far as I know MSF terrorist patients were free to leave and go about their business after treatment, and are not held for questioning by proper authorities.

Under those circumstances the facility is more of a R&R trauma center for the Taliban than it is an important community resource. It should probably have been evacuated the day before, safeguarding the staff, and avoiding potential complications with unruly and uncontrollable Taliban inevitably coming onto the compound seeking care and doing what the Taliban do.

Yes, it is "unfortunate" that

A Guy Called LULU — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 16:33:58 +0000

In reply to If MSF was treating any

Yes, it is "unfortunate" that telling the smart, highly trained , most educated and strongest military ever, who have weapons so 'smart' they hit exactly where they are aimed is not enough. Yes, telling them exactly where you are [ MSF: We are STILL in the big hospital standing alone with the big red cross on it just like for the last couple years.] Then, after the attack started the doctors begged them to stop but that was not enough to keep the group of doctors and nurses and patients from becoming collateral damage.

Your first paragraph implies that there were, at least likely, armed militants taking military action from the hospital. The last I heard the spokesman for MSF said they were unaware of any armed soldiers in the hospital and did not know of any fire from it. The fog of information is deliberately made thicker than the fog of war but far more so by politicians and Generals than by doctors. There are video and audible tapes that would reveal the truth [remember Bradley Manning?] if enough people wanted the truth badly enough. If there were muzzle flashes coming from the building it could be proven though it would still not establish a justifiable reason for the attack on that hospital. If the videos proved there was reason for the attack we would have seen them by now.

If MSF was treating any

NCD — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 16:11:54 +0000

In reply to Why Is the U.S. Refusing An Independent Investigation If Its Hospital Airstrike Was An “Accident”?

If MSF was treating any wounded Taliban, it is more than likely the Taliban buddies who brought them in weren't obediently following MSF rules that they must disarm, and obediently stack their weapons against the walls.

Resigning themselves to reading magazines patiently in the waiting area, or catching a smoke just outside, unarmed. As Afghan troops were moving in to retake the city from the Taliban who were raping and murdering their way through the city.

Giving GPS coordinates to someone in the chain of command is, unfortunately, not foolproof protection in a very hot combat zone. The US on numerous instances has fatally wounded Afghan troops and NATO/US troops in air strikes.

I have to smile at this guy

Aaron Carine — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 12:37:39 +0000

In reply to Why Is the U.S. Refusing An Independent Investigation If Its Hospital Airstrike Was An “Accident”?

I have to smile at this guy saying we can trust the military to investigate itself. Yeah, they were so relentless in investigating My Lai and No Gun Ri. I hope it was an accident--for whatever that's worth--but we need an independent investigation.

Barack Obama responded to the

A Guy Called LULU — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 18:07:53 +0000

In reply to Why Is the U.S. Refusing An Independent Investigation If Its Hospital Airstrike Was An “Accident”?

Barack Obama responded to the shootings at a community college in Oregon last week by saying that people had “become numb to this” and that “we are the only advanced country on earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months.”

Yes, the evidence has become blindingly clear, though the particular killing of particular people occasionally pricks our conscience and puts us in to a temporary rage, we are, for the greater part and regarding most other peoples, become comfortably numb.

https://consortiumnews.com/2015/10/09/collateral-damagestuff-happens/

The gunship which attacked

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 21:30:44 +0000

In reply to Why Is the U.S. Refusing An Independent Investigation If Its Hospital Airstrike Was An “Accident”?

The gunship which attacked the hospital is said to be equipped with cameras on every gun and recorder for all the crew’s conversations during the raid as well as all radio talk. What investigation could be easier? How long should it take?

But those who already know

A Guy Called LULU — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 18:08:49 +0000

In reply to Why Is the U.S. Refusing An Independent Investigation If Its Hospital Airstrike Was An “Accident”?

But those who already know that this was all a terrible mistake, that no U.S. personnel would ever purposely call for a strike on a hospital even if they thought there were Taliban inside, should be the ones most eager for the most credible investigation possible: namely, the one under the Geneva Conventions which MSF this morning demanded, by the tribunal created exactly for such atrocities.