The lead story today is that two
bombs dropped by a US Air Force plane hit a Doctors Without Borders hospital in
Kunduz. Why is everyone ready to assume
the US military bombed the hospital on purpose? We do more than any other
military in the world to avoid hitting civilian targets. Our munitions and
targeting are as accurate as we can make them. Our enemies generally intend
to kill civilians. While the Taliban was in control of Kunduz they murdered and
raped hundreds of civilians. Many were killed because they were family members
of police or soldiers, or because they provided health care for women. Why is
the outrage reserved for a targeting mistake, rather than the Taliban
atrocities?
Amnesty
International accuses the Taliban of atrocities against defenseless civilians,
including mass rape and murder. This is war crimes on a massive scale. Maybe
this isn't important because the Taliban raped and killed only Asian women and
children? Well, that's racist. Maybe it's not important because that's what we
expect the Taliban to do? Well, that's the bigotry of low expectations if I
ever heard it. Maybe it's just the usual liberal priorities. Liberals don't
care how many innocent people get raped and murdered, as long as domestic
spending isn't cut and no American voters are harmed.
It’s likely American air strikes in
Kunduz are being coordinated by a mix of forward air controllers (FACs) from
multiple countries, including some Afghan Special Forces. This is because rules
of engagement from President Obama generally restrict US Special Forces from engaging
in combat. These FACs are being shot at while they coordinate the air strikes.
If they read or say a coordinate wrong, the strike hits the wrong building. Two
bombs could be dropped in a single pass of one aircraft. It’s also possible that Taliban gunmen were
firing from the hospital because they were hoping for an incident just like
what happened. Before the Pravda Press
proclaims a war crime, perhaps they need to know something about military
operations in a combat zone. They might also want to wait until the actual
facts come out. So far, everything beyond the bombing itself is just
speculation.