THE attack on a hospital in Kunduz, in northern Afghanistan, by an American AC-130 gunship in the early hours of October 3rd was not a case of a bomb gone astray. The hospital, which may have been treating Taliban wounded in an ongoing battle for the city, was hit at 15-minute intervals for over an hour. At least 22 people were killed, including 12 medical staff working for Medécins Sans Frontières (MSF), a Nobel-prize-winning NGO. At first a military spokesman acknowledged that there might have been “collateral damage” to the hospital. Barack Obama later called the head of MSF to apologise; the organisation says the attack was a war crime and is calling for an independent investigation.
The incident is yet another illustration of the perils of matching first-world firepower with third-world decision-making. Since Mr Obama formally declared an end to America’s 13-year war in Afghanistan last December, the 9,800 US troops there have been mainly restricted to training and supporting Afghan forces. It was they who called in the hospital attack, said General John Campbell, America’s top general in Afghanistan, in testimony to the Senate on October...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/1WPlPPi
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