If Russia had done this, our government and corporate media would be
condemning this action as a war crime. But in 2016, before the dreaded
Trump becomes President, our government can commit a war crime, admit it,
and no one cares. International law says you don't bomb hospitals because
their healing function is separate from war. But in the past several years,
the rule has been broken several times by many governments including our's
and Israel's.
Miriam
US Military Admits: We Deliberately Bombed a Hospital in Iraq
Published on
Friday, December 09, 2016
by
Common Dreams
US Military Admits: We Deliberately Bombed a Hospital in Iraq
Military spokesperson says "it's very difficult to ascertain with full and
total fidelity" that no civilians were killed
by
Andrea Germanos, staff writer
A U.S. Air Force craft sits at the Qayyarah West airfield in Mosul District,
Iraq, on Oct. 22, 2016. (Photo: U.S. Army)
The U.S. military said Thursday that it intentionally bombed a hospital in
Mosul, Iraq as part of its efforts to "eradicate" Islamic State (ISIS)
fighters.
The attack on the Al Salam hospital complex took place Wednesday at the
request of Iraqi forces, with coalition aircraft using "precision-guided
munitions," Air Force Col. John Dorrian, spokesperson for the U.S.-led
coalition against ISIS, told reporters.
He said "it's very difficult to ascertain with full and total fidelity" that
there were no civilian casualties, whether in the building targeted or
elsewhere within the hospital complex.
ISIS fighters, Dorrian said, "were using the facility to fire heavy machine
guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the Iraqi security forces in the
area." The strike on the "normally protected facility" allowed the Iraqi
forces "to fall back to a more defensible position," he said.
The "protection of civilians," he said later in the press conference, "has
been a centerpiece, a foundational element of the campaign to liberate
Mosul."
The military is not carrying out an investigation but rather an "assessment"
of the strike, the spokesperson added.
The battle to reclaim Mosul from ISIS fighters, which began in October, has
left civilians, including roughly 600,000 children, trapped and facing a
worsening humanitarian situation.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
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US Military Admits: We Deliberately Bombed a Hospital in Iraq
Published on
Friday, December 09, 2016
by
Common Dreams
US Military Admits: We Deliberately Bombed a Hospital in Iraq
Military spokesperson says "it's very difficult to ascertain with full and
total fidelity" that no civilians were killed
by
Andrea Germanos, staff writer
. 31 Comments
.
. A U.S. Air Force craft sits at the Qayyarah West airfield in Mosul
District, Iraq, on Oct. 22, 2016. (Photo: U.S. Army)
. The U.S. military said Thursday that it intentionally bombed a
hospital in Mosul, Iraq as part of its efforts to "eradicate" Islamic State
(ISIS) fighters.
. The attack on the Al Salam hospital complex took place Wednesday at
the request of Iraqi forces, with coalition aircraft using "precision-guided
munitions," Air Force Col. John Dorrian, spokesperson for the U.S.-led
coalition against ISIS, told reporters.
. He said "it's very difficult to ascertain with full and total
fidelity" that there were no civilian casualties, whether in the building
targeted or elsewhere within the hospital complex.
. ISIS fighters, Dorrian said, "were using the facility to fire heavy
machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the Iraqi security forces in
the area." The strike on the "normally protected facility" allowed the Iraqi
forces "to fall back to a more defensible position," he said.
The "protection of civilians," he said later in the press conference, "has
been a centerpiece, a foundational element of the campaign to liberate
Mosul."
The military is not carrying out an investigation but rather an "assessment"
of the strike, the spokesperson added.
The battle to reclaim Mosul from ISIS fighters, which began in October, has
left civilians, including roughly 600,000 children, trapped and facing a
worsening humanitarian situation.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
