As if bombing the MSF hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, wasn’t enough, US military reportedly raided the targeted hospital yesterday and “destroyed potential evidence”.
NBC showed the images of the destruction done by the US airstrike to the hospital where 22 people – patients and medics – died and many others wounded. The story informs that an armored vehicle carrying US personnel entered the hospital without permission and destroyed potential evidence as it damaged property and also frightened the staff.
On a parallel side, as Japan Times writes, US analysts are said to believe the hospital was being used by a “Pakistani operative” to coordinate Taliban activity. They say they believe the Pakistani intelligence operative was killed in the airstrike.
While the US at the same time called the hospital’s bombing a mistake, their position sounds shaky and shapeshifting. If a Pakistani operative was indeed inside the hospital, did it make it a justifiable target to risk the lives of dozens of innocent people without first trying other strategies? Even world’s most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden was taken in an organized raid that left his own family members unharmed.
The attack on MSF hospital, lack of any convincing, coherent explanation, and now raiding the same hospital at a time when an investigation had been promised into the incident all has worked against the US military’s image in the international community. Only those who are guilty and know they are attempt to destroy evidence and continue using force and intimidation against their victims.
