Greenwald writes: "Ever since the U.S. last October bombed a hospital run by
Doctors Without Borders in Kunduz, Afghanistan, the U.S. vehemently denied
guilt while acting exactly like a guilty party would."
Syrians evacuate an injured man amid the rubble of destroyed buildings
following an airstrike on a rebel-held area of Aleppo, April 29, 2016.
(photo: AFP/Getty)
The Joke of US Justice and "Accountability" When They Bomb a Hospital
By Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
29 April 16
Ever since the U.S. last October bombed a hospital run by Doctors Without
Borders (MSF) in Kunduz, Afghanistan, the U.S. vehemently denied guilt while
acting exactly like a guilty party would. First, it changed its story
repeatedly. Then, it blocked every effort - including repeated demands from
MSF - to have an independent investigation determine what really happened.
As May Jeong documented in a richly reported story for The Intercept
yesterday, the Afghan government consistently admitted that the hospital was
targeted, claiming that doing so was justified, and they wanted to publicly
endorse calls for an independent investigation, which the U.S. refused to
let them do; what is beyond dispute, as Jeong wrote, is that the "211 shells
that were fired . . . were felt by the 42 men, women, and children who were
killed." MSF insisted the bombing was "deliberate," and ample evidence
supports that charge.
Despite all this, the U.S. military is about to release a report that, so
predictably, exonerates itself from all guilt; it was, of course, all just a
terribly tragic mistake. Worse, reports The Los Angeles Times' W.J.
Hennigan, "no one will face criminal charges." Instead, this is the
"justice" being meted out to those responsible:
One officer was suspended from command and ordered out of Afghanistan. The
others were given lesser punishments: Six were sent to counseling, seven
were issued letters of reprimand, and two were ordered to retraining
courses.
MSF continues to insist that the attack was a "war crime" and must be
investigated by an independent tribunal under the Geneva Conventions. In a
statement this week, Amnesty International said that it has "serious
concerns about the Department of Defense's questionable track record of
policing itself." The LA Times story notes that Physicians for Human Rights
said in a letter to the White House that "the gravity of harm caused by the
reported failures to follow protocol in Kunduz appears to constitute gross
negligence that warrants active pursuit of criminal liability."
But none of that matters. The only law to which the U.S. government is
subject is its own interests. U.S. officials scoffed at global demands for a
real investigation into what took place here, and then doled out
"punishments" of counseling, training classes, and letters of reprimand for
those responsible for this carnage. That's almost a worse insult, a more
extreme expression of self-exoneration and indifference, than no sanctions
at all. But that's par for the course in a country that has granted
full-scale legal immunity for those who perpetrated the most egregious
crimes: from the systemic fraud that caused the 2008 financial crisis to the
worldwide regime of torture the U.S. government officially implemented.
Yesterday in Syria, an MSF-run hospital was targeted with an airstrike,
almost certainly deliberately, by what was very likely the Syrian government
or the Russians, killing at least 50 patients and doctors, including one of
the last pediatricians in Aleppo. On behalf of the U.S. government,
Secretary of State John Kerry pronounced: "We are outraged by yesterday's
airstrikes in Aleppo on the al Quds hospital supported by both Doctors
Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which
killed dozens of people, including children, patients and medical
personnel." On the list of those with even minimal credibility to denounce
that horrific airstrike, Kerry and his fellow American officials do not
appear.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Syrians evacuate an injured man amid the rubble of destroyed buildings
following an airstrike on a rebel-held area of Aleppo, April 29, 2016.
(photo: AFP/Getty)
https://theintercept.com/2016/04/29/the-joke-of-u-s-justice-and-accountabili
ty-when-they-bomb-a-hospital/https://theintercept.com/2016/04/29/the-joke-of
-u-s-justice-and-accountability-when-they-bomb-a-hospital/
The Joke of US Justice and "Accountability" When They Bomb a Hospital
By Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
29 April 16
ver since the U.S. last October bombed a hospital run by Doctors Without
Borders (MSF) in Kunduz, Afghanistan, the U.S. vehemently denied guilt while
acting exactly like a guilty party would. First, it changed its story
repeatedly. Then, it blocked every effort - including repeated demands from
MSF - to have an independent investigation determine what really happened.
As May Jeong documented in a richly reported story for The Intercept
yesterday, the Afghan government consistently admitted that the hospital was
targeted, claiming that doing so was justified, and they wanted to publicly
endorse calls for an independent investigation, which the U.S. refused to
let them do; what is beyond dispute, as Jeong wrote, is that the "211 shells
that were fired . . . were felt by the 42 men, women, and children who were
killed." MSF insisted the bombing was "deliberate," and ample evidence
supports that charge.
Despite all this, the U.S. military is about to release a report that, so
predictably, exonerates itself from all guilt; it was, of course, all just a
terribly tragic mistake. Worse, reports The Los Angeles Times' W.J.
Hennigan, "no one will face criminal charges." Instead, this is the
"justice" being meted out to those responsible:
One officer was suspended from command and ordered out of Afghanistan. The
others were given lesser punishments: Six were sent to counseling, seven
were issued letters of reprimand, and two were ordered to retraining
courses.
MSF continues to insist that the attack was a "war crime" and must be
investigated by an independent tribunal under the Geneva Conventions. In a
statement this week, Amnesty International said that it has "serious
concerns about the Department of Defense's questionable track record of
policing itself." The LA Times story notes that Physicians for Human Rights
said in a letter to the White House that "the gravity of harm caused by the
reported failures to follow protocol in Kunduz appears to constitute gross
negligence that warrants active pursuit of criminal liability."
But none of that matters. The only law to which the U.S. government is
subject is its own interests. U.S. officials scoffed at global demands for a
real investigation into what took place here, and then doled out
"punishments" of counseling, training classes, and letters of reprimand for
those responsible for this carnage. That's almost a worse insult, a more
extreme expression of self-exoneration and indifference, than no sanctions
at all. But that's par for the course in a country that has granted
full-scale legal immunity for those who perpetrated the most egregious
crimes: from the systemic fraud that caused the 2008 financial crisis to the
worldwide regime of torture the U.S. government officially implemented.
Yesterday in Syria, an MSF-run hospital was targeted with an airstrike,
almost certainly deliberately, by what was very likely the Syrian government
or the Russians, killing at least 50 patients and doctors, including one of
the last pediatricians in Aleppo. On behalf of the U.S. government,
Secretary of State John Kerry pronounced: "We are outraged by yesterday's
airstrikes in Aleppo on the al Quds hospital supported by both Doctors
Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which
killed dozens of people, including children, patients and medical
personnel." On the list of those with even minimal credibility to denounce
that horrific airstrike, Kerry and his fellow American officials do not
appear.
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http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
