What did they think they were doing? The military stated they got word about the Taliban having a surface to air missile. So. That gives the USA military the right to cut corners? That is what happened here. The software needed time to open all the operating systems and the pilot(s) didn't think they had that kind of time. Really. So, they took a chance they would be able to take out a surface to air missile with partially loaded software.
This isn't gross error, this is complete and utter misuse of technology that doesn't belong in Afghanistan anymore. Osama bin Laden is dead. The people of Afghanistan have to reject the Taliban. Currently, the Taliban are squeezed into a corner of land that straddles Pakistan and Afghanistan. The people of Pakistan had no problem rejecting the Taliban. Afghanistan has to do the same.
So, the entire scenario is gross negligence. Somehow a surface to air missile was more important than human beings on the ground. It was flawed from the start. What if there was no drone to send into some kind of intercept? Then the USA would have to ground their helicopters and jets and planes until the missile was found.
This is ridiculous. If the technology can be this grossly MISUSED, it needs to be ended as a purposeful weapon in combat. This was a mindless drone that counts on computer screens for accuracy. There was no accuracy. People come first. A surface to air missile wasn't going to kill the people on the ground, so keep the flying machines grounded until the missile could be found. The USA military was grossly negligent of civilians. End of discussion.
April 29, 2016
By Gregor Aisch, Josh Keller and Sergio Pecanha
Human errors and technical and communication failures (click here) led to a devastating attack on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, last year that killed 42 people, the Defense Department announced Friday.
This isn't gross error, this is complete and utter misuse of technology that doesn't belong in Afghanistan anymore. Osama bin Laden is dead. The people of Afghanistan have to reject the Taliban. Currently, the Taliban are squeezed into a corner of land that straddles Pakistan and Afghanistan. The people of Pakistan had no problem rejecting the Taliban. Afghanistan has to do the same.
So, the entire scenario is gross negligence. Somehow a surface to air missile was more important than human beings on the ground. It was flawed from the start. What if there was no drone to send into some kind of intercept? Then the USA would have to ground their helicopters and jets and planes until the missile was found.
This is ridiculous. If the technology can be this grossly MISUSED, it needs to be ended as a purposeful weapon in combat. This was a mindless drone that counts on computer screens for accuracy. There was no accuracy. People come first. A surface to air missile wasn't going to kill the people on the ground, so keep the flying machines grounded until the missile could be found. The USA military was grossly negligent of civilians. End of discussion.
April 29, 2016
By Gregor Aisch, Josh Keller and Sergio Pecanha
Human errors and technical and communication failures (click here) led to a devastating attack on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, last year that killed 42 people, the Defense Department announced Friday.
Sixteen American military personnel have been
punished for their roles in the attack, but none of them will face
criminal charges because a military investigation determined the attack
to be unintentional. “This was an extraordinarily intense combat
situation,” the top officer of the military’s Central Command, Gen.
Joseph L. Votel, told reporters.
The disciplinary measures were unlikely to
satisfy Doctors Without Borders and other rights groups that have said
the attack may have constituted a war crime and that have called for an
independent criminal investigation. The punishments were “administrative
actions” that could include suspension or removal from command....
