MSF staff killed in suspected US strike on Afghan hospital

a reply to: Dimithae

Ok, local news channel in Westphalia germany reported it as a nato led strike.

It was translated for me by a local..

UN is condemning the attack now.


Talk about your foreign policy screw up!

Completely invalidates the US bitching and whineing over syria and Russia.

Just goes to show that Americans are more important.

People at a school get shot, national outrage. Then, we turn around and firebomb a hospital, nobody thinks twice about it, and it's perfectly acceptable.

I don't want to live in this planet anymore

The US president, Barack Obama, has pledged a full investigation into an apparent US airstrike on an Afghan hospital that killed 19 people.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said patients burned to death in their beds during a bombing raid that continued for half an hour after US and Afghan authorities were informed the hospital had been hit. The United Nations said it could amount to a war crime.

www.theguardian.com...

Makes me realise just how much was probably swept under the carpet before instant communications.

The investigation should not be conducted by the US and should be an entirely independent of military interests there is no could be about it. It is a war crime.

originally posted by: liteonit6969
a reply to: vonclod

What is happening here on ATS?

Do you people not know what has happened? Do the public not know what happened? This is a blatant war crime.
The media is not reporting on this. What the hell?
The head of US led forces in Afghanistan has said this is possible "collateral damage". They knew this was a medical facility and continually hit it even though it was marked and phone calls where sent out to call it off.

This for me is the most blatant black out of an event like this I have ever seen.

Doctors and patients have been blown to pieces. Children have been burned in their hospital beds.
This was all done knowingly straight from the head of the US led forces


Where are you ATS members who want to end this kind of criminal activity? This thread is too quiet. What the hell is going on?

I was thinking, when I first woke up this morning, of CIAgypsy's thread about Isil having intent with nuclear weapons, and while I don't buy into that level of histrionics, the fact remains that the US has learned nothing from 9/11 and it continues to place it's citizenry at risk and make them a legitimate (according to the rules of war that they follow) target.

The strike was called in by Afghan security to counter the Taliban using it as a firing position. Someone inbetween didn't check the map.

originally posted by: FlyingFox
The strike was called in by Afghan security to counter the Taliban using it as a firing position. Someone inbetween didn't check the map.

But luckily, through extensive experience of this kind of situation, MSF contacted all parties involved to let them know that they were hitting the hospital...and the bombardment continued for a further 30 minutes.

Studity on the part of the pilot doesn't wash, someone chose to ignore and not pass on the notification, a decision to risk the collateral damages was made. That decision has to be justified and judged by an international court.

a reply to: dothedew

My feelings exactly. This world is making me sick to the pit of my stomach.

Again this should be massive news.

There has been an effort to suppress the importance of this event.

I have sent letters to sites such as the bbc and other news sites on the lack of news coverage. I know this is pointless but at least it's something. Many of my friends and family did not even know this has happened.
The power of the msm. The mass is really so well controlled it's frightening.

originally posted by: Anaana

originally posted by: FlyingFox
The strike was called in by Afghan security to counter the Taliban using it as a firing position. Someone inbetween didn't check the map.

But luckily, through extensive experience of this kind of situation, MSF contacted all parties involved to let them know that they were hitting the hospital...and the bombardment continued for a further 30 minutes.

Did they dial 911?

Excuse the pun.

So I understand, "all parties" includes the Taliban? So the Taliban can and did register this building as a sanctuary firing position?

So it was either or neither.

originally posted by: liteonit6969
I have sent letters to sites such as the bbc and other news sites on the lack of news coverage. I know this is pointless but at least it's something. Many of my friends and family did not even know this has happened.

Good on you! And coverage is being maintained so perhaps it is helping, every little does count.

originally posted by: liteonit6969
The power of the msm. The mass is really so well controlled it's frightening.

I don't even thing that it is that, I think it is that we all expect civilian casualties and only get in a ruck when they are "our" civilians.

originally posted by: FlyingFox
So I understand, "all parties" includes the Taliban?

Yes.

originally posted by: FlyingFox
So the Taliban can and did register this building as a sanctuary firing position?

The Afghan and US forces on the ground claim that they were being fired on from the compound. Those in the hospital within the compound claim that there was no fighting going on in the compound of which they were aware.

originally posted by: FlyingFox
So it was either or neither.

No, it is necessary for there to be a full inquiry to ascertain why a registered neutral facility full of civilians, was fired upon, leading to at least 19 murders. Whether or not the Taliban were in there or not, a decision was made to risk those lives as collateral damage and that decision has to be justified, that can only be done through a full and independent inquiry.

Sorry, it is 22 (not 19) now confirmed dead.

Kunduz after a US airstrike on its hospital, labelled a war crime by the group.

MSF says 22 people were killed by the bombing, which Afghan officials now claim was in retaliation for fire from Taliban fighters hiding in the hospital. The president, Barack Obama, announced on Sunday he was launching a full investigation into the circumstances.

In a robust rejection of the allegation that Taliban fighters were sheltering in the hospital grounds, the MSF general director, Christopher Stokes, said: “Not a single member of our staff reported any fighting inside the MSF hospital compound prior to the US airstrike on Saturday morning.

“The hospital was full of MSF staff, patients and their caretakers. It is 12 MSF staff members and 10 patients, including three children, who were killed in the attack.”

Stokes reiterated that the main hospital building was “repeatedly and very precisely hit during each aerial raid, while the rest of the compound was left mostly untouched”.

www.theguardian.com...

sad sad.

if it was Russia who bombed a hospital it would be on all the 24hr news networks around the clock. is this still free media or are we in a subtly government controlled 'free media' state.

what are the survivors going to think of us, what are other governments seeing us as, will there be no repercussion from our actions in a few years.. ?

why dont most Americans realize this, i dont know.... we are slowly turning into the evils we fought so hard to dethrone decades ago....

if they showed before and after pictures of all the countries we 'freed' over the years, we would see a glaring continuity difference.

a reply to: Anaana

Gotta love JSOC.

Pure evil.

originally posted by: odzeandennz
sad sad.

if it was Russia who bombed a hospital it would be on all the 24hr news networks around the clock. is this still free media or are we in a subtly government controlled 'free media' state.

what are the survivors going to think of us, what are other governments seeing us as, will there be no repercussion from our actions in a few years.. ?

why dont most Americans realize this, i dont know.... we are slowly turning into the evils we fought so hard to dethrone decades ago....

if they showed before and after pictures of all the countries we 'freed' over the years, we would see a glaring continuity difference.

This isn't just the US, it would be naive to think that they are the only ones doing this, the trouble is that the US assumes the moral high ground but has an inability to reflect on and learn from it's past experience. I am really looking for the US to step up and recognise what is happening in the world, and their role, but I am looking for that from my own country, the UK, too. And Russia etc etc. It's time to do things differently.

And, it'd be nice to see the UN grow a pair and actually be what it was intended to be.

As US tries to lecture Russia about civilian casualties they bomb a hospital killing at least 19.

The US are the laughing stock of the world. Their hyprcricy knows no bounds. They have absolutley no crediablity at all. If they had the slightest bit of honor they would admit they got it worng and apologise.

I asked this question once before and copped fire and death from many Ameriicans presumably, but I'll ask it again anyway. How many civilians does the US have to kill before they are guility of genocide. Whats your number?

A driect question to Americians. Can the US govt ever be guilty of genocide? is that possible or is it that only those who oppose washington can be guilty of genocide?

originally posted by: LightAssassin
a reply to: Anaana

Gotta love JSOC.

Pure evil.

Pure stupidity more like. It has been US foreign policy since WW2, officially or otherwise, to pick a favourite and then support the annihilation of all opposition to that favourite (chosen on presumed malleability), hence, we reach this point in Syria where there is NO ONE left with any gumption to support and they are left organising fighting against their own former "man" without any feasible alternative to him available. It's beyond a joke, and the lives involved are all just written off as collateral damage so that they can preserve a controlling interest in the area. Let it go for #'s sake!

Have they verified it was a us plane not the Afghan attack choppers in the area?

Honestly don't know... On a phone so it's hard to research properly?

originally posted by: Irishhaf
Have they verified it was a us plane not the Afghan attack choppers in the area?

Honestly don't know... On a phone so it's hard to research properly?

It's been confirmed that it was an AC130. The initial request was from Afghan forces which was relayed through US SF troops on the ground who then controlled the strike.

Source

Okay, this is even sicker:

In particular, MSF quickly publicized numerous facts that cast serious doubt on the original U.S. claim that the strike on the hospital was just an accident. To begin with, the organization had repeatedly advised the U.S. military of the exact GPS coordinates of the hospital. They did so most recently on September 29, just five days before the strike. Beyond that, MSF personnel at the facility “frantically” called U.S. military officials during the strike to advise them that the hospital was being hit and to plead with them to stop, but the strikes continued in a “sustained” manner for 30 more minutes. Finally, MSF yesterday said this:

(TWEET)
MSF International ‎@MSF

The hospital was repeatedly & precisely hit during each aerial raid, while the rest of the compound was left mostly untouched #Kunduz



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