"An Admission of a War Crime..."

That's how the MSF have described the Afghan Government's justification of the bombing of their hospital in Kunduz, which killed 22 people.

The United States military initially tried to justify the air strike, which they carried out at the request of Afghan forces, by saying that US soldiers were under fire from positions within the hospital compound. They have now admitted this was not true.

Although the UK has not been directly involved in this incident, it amazes me how little coverage these things seem to get in our media, especially at a time when Russia's actions in Syria seem to be a major issue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Future17

That's how the MSF have described the Afghan Government's justification of the bombing of their hospital in Kunduz, which killed 22 people.

The United States military initially tried to justify the air strike, which they carried out at the request of Afghan forces, by saying that US soldiers were under fire from positions within the hospital compound. They have now admitted this was not true.

Although the UK has not been directly involved in this incident, it amazes me how little coverage these things seem to get in our media, especially at a time when Russia's actions in Syria seem to be a major issue.

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Watched a bit of that last night on the news. The US have changed their story, initially blaming the Taliban to now blaming their allies, the Afghan Forces.

The problem as I see it now though, is that allegations of war crimes - substantiated or otherwise - don't mean anything anymore. There have been so many of them over the past 12 years or so starting with Iraq and Afghanistan, that it's not even a big deal.

This has slipped from the radar of the national media because it's an uncomfortable truth that challenges how the gen-pop sees their country's positive role in the world and certainly, who we align ourselves with.

The wedding party, the school, the hospital, the innocent civilians killed at arms length by a drone strike are simply collateral damage and the legal technicalities of how that is in relation to international law doesn't get a look in.

Of course, that doesn't stop your average tin pot dictator or warlord being dragged to The Hague to face rightful justice. It's just that you are very unlikely to ever see an anglo-american defendant in the dock to account for their crimes because they write the rules and decide how the game is played.