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| Afghanistan |
| Commander: Afghan Forces Requested US Airstrike that Hit Doctors Without Borders Hospital |
| 2015-10-05 |
| Come to think about it, Afghanistan hasn't been protesting this one very much. Gen. John Campbell, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said Monday that Afghan forces requested the U.S. airstrike that that killed 22 people at a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on Saturday. "We have now learned that on Oct. 3, Afghan forces advised that they were taking fire from enemy positions and asked for air support from U.S. forces," Campbell stated at a press conference Monday, the Associated Press reported. "An airstrike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat and several civilians were accidentally struck. This is different from the initial reports which indicated that U.S. forces were threatened and that the airstrike was called on their behalf." The airstrike, which occurred early Saturday morning, killed aid workers and patients at the facility, which is run by Doctors Without Borders, or MÊdecins Sans Frontières. "If errors were committed we will acknowledge them," Campbell stated Monday. Initially, Col. Brian Tibus, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said that the hospital may have been "collateral damage" in a strike against Taliban fighters "threatening the force." "U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Kunduz city at 2:15 a.m. [local time] on October 3 against individuals threatening the force," Tibus said Saturday. "The strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical facility. This incident is under investigation." Both President Obama and Defense Secretary Ash Carter have promised that the Pentagon would conduct an investigation into the incident. "The Department of Defense has launched a full investigation, and we will await the results of that inquiry before making a definitive judgment as to the circumstances of this tragedy," Obama said Saturday. "We do know that American air assets ... were engaged in the Kunduz vicinity. And we do know that the structures that--you see in the news--were destroyed," Carter told to journalists Sunday before embarking on a five-day trip to Europe. "I just can't tell you what the connection is at this time." MÊdecins Sans Frontières blamed the U.S. for the loss of life at the hospital. Shouldn't Doctors Without Borders be included in the Organization list? Maybe as useful fools or terrorist symps? "This attack is abhorrent and a grave violation of international humanitarian law," the charity's president, Meinie Nicolai, said. "We demand total transparency from coalition forces. We cannot accept that this horrific loss of life will simply be dismissed as 'collateral damage.'" The group's general director, Christopher Stokes, said Sunday that "relying only on an internal investigation by a party to the conflict would be wholly insufficient," labeling the incident a "war crime." He also refuted claims from Afghan forces that Taliban members had been firing from the grounds of the hospital. The charity said on social media Sunday that the hospital in Afghanistan is no longer functional. Patients and staff members have been relocated to other facilities in the area, according to a MÊdecins Sans Frontières representative. "The situation there is confused and complicated. So it may take some time to get the facts, but we will get the facts and we will be full and transparent about sharing them," Carter said Sunday, promising that the U.S. would hold anyone accountable who was "responsible for doing something they shouldn't have done." |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #10 MSF says it still doesn't absolve the US of responsibility in the attack. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2015-10-05 23:30 |
| #9 Another consequence of the bammer turning tail and running. The bammer is ultimately responsible for those doctor's getting fried. |
| Posted by: Sven the pelter 2015-10-05 14:41 |
| #8 But the lack of embedded ground controllers will have consequences. Posted by Sven the pelter Yea, so much for the old multi-source confirmation of targets. We'll just hand the target folder task off to the locals and hope for the very best. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-10-05 14:38 |
| #7 Consequences, schmoncequenses. The era of embedded JAGs & war crimes is over. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-10-05 14:24 |
| #6 Point taken. But the lack of embedded ground controllers will have consequences. |
| Posted by: Sven the pelter 2015-10-05 14:17 |
| #5 Sven, let me give you a hint: how many American servicemen killed by their Afghan "comrades"? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-10-05 14:10 |
| #4 Yes. Don't pull out in the first place while the fighting continues. We make our own Vietnams. |
| Posted by: Sven the pelter 2015-10-05 14:07 |
| #3 Which is why we have to embed our ground controllers in the Afghan units that call in our air support. Care to think it through? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-10-05 13:48 |
| #2 Which is why we have to embed our ground controllers in the Afghan units that call in our air support. What does every Marine company have? A guy with wings on his collar and a radio to talk with the Airedales flying above. How good would Marine close air ground support be without it? The above is a case in point. |
| Posted by: Sven the pelter 2015-10-05 13:43 |
| #1 "Come to think about it, Afghanistan hasn't been protesting this one very much." Money talks, bull$hit walks. |
| Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy 2015-10-05 13:39 |