Kinja reply list

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PeteRRBrendan O'Connor
4/29/16 1:58pm
Nobody is as scrupulous at avoiding civilian targets as the US military. Compared to the Russians or the Syrians or even ourselves as recently as Desert Shield we go above and beyond.
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  HubcapJennyPeteRR
  4/29/16 2:01pm
  Still not scrupulous enough.
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  Kamai - Looming and InevitablePeteRR
  4/29/16 2:05pm
  That all well and good, but let’s at least take responsibility when we do kill civilians with a statement that amounts to a little more than "well, shit happens."
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Hip Brooklyn StereotypeBrendan O'Connor
4/29/16 1:55pm
“Fog of war” isn’t a nebulous causal description at all, no sir.

$6,000 to families of those killed

Well, now we’re even Steven!
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  ╰(　´◔　ω　◔ `)╯< Woke and BokeHip Brooklyn Stereotype
  4/29/16 1:56pm
  When you hear “fog of war” there’s a 90% chance of bullshit.
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  Hip Brooklyn Stereotype╰(　´◔　ω　◔ `)╯< Woke and Boke
  4/29/16 1:56pm
  Where do the meatballs factor in?
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dothedewBrendan O'Connor
4/29/16 1:53pm
I wonder if we will be so charitable when assessing Assad’s motives for bombing the MSF hospital in Aleppo.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr…
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  HopalongNealCassidydothedew
  4/29/16 1:55pm
  well of course not. he’s a bad guy. we’re good guys.
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  VtDkDudedothedew
  4/29/16 2:02pm
  I think they called that one a war crime the second they heard about it. “Assad doesn’t make mistakes, he is a war criminal. We are fighting the Fog of War.” - USA
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OMG!PONIES!Brendan O'Connor
4/29/16 2:12pm
Is it really an “extraordinarily intense combat situation” when you’re firing shells the size of a piece of firewood from a flying battleship at an unarmed and unprotected field hospital?
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  Clutchman83OMG!PONIES!
  4/29/16 2:25pm
  Those guys aren’t exactly drinking Mai Thais and kicking back. Do you really think it’s easy to make decisions about raining down death and destruction on people? It’s been shown for pretty much ever that this stuff is incredibly psychologically taxing. I’d bet that AC-130 commander is very likely dealing with a lot of demons over this incident.
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  opiumsmabytchOMG!PONIES!
  4/29/16 2:58pm
  Yes.
  
  They have to protect themselves from the orcs coming out of that fog.
  
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R.S.D.Brendan O'Connor
4/29/16 2:41pm
“the hospital “did not have an internationally- recognized symbol to identify it as a medical facility, such as a Red Cross or Red Crescent that was readily visible to the aircrew at night.” However, a New York Times reporter wrote on Twitter, “It was brightly lit.Spread on the hospital roof was a large white & red flag reading ‘Médecins Sans Frontiers,’the group’s French name.”

This really bothers me. The Red Cross/Red Crescent is an international norm codified in the Geneva Conventions since the 1920's. The U.S. military has rigorous Law of Armed Conflict training and it’s incorporated into every major exercise and training scenario. Had MSF properly marked their building, perhaps their comrades would still be alive today. While there is plenty of fault on the part of the U.S. military, MSF should also recognize their negligence contributed to this unecessary tragedy.
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  Sue City SasparillaR.S.D.
  4/29/16 3:53pm
  At the risk of being blunt, you have no idea what you’re talking about. As part of its operational actions, MSF (Doctors Without Borders) makes very clear to all parties involved in the conflict WHO they are (i.e. that they provide medical care without regard to faction, beliefs, creed, fault, which “side” someone is on, etc.) and WHAT they are doing and WHERE they are operating/working. In fact, I would go so far as to say that MSF/Doctors Without Borders is scrupulous about this. They’re not some fly-by-night operation that just stumbled into this area, totally ignorant of what was happening, and just closed their eyes and really hoped for the best. Your suggestion that MSF/Doctors Without Borders was somehow negligent is not only reprehensible, it is insulting.
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  gigglestickierR.S.D.
  4/29/16 3:55pm
  So a large, brightly lit flag laid flat (I assume) on a roof that looks like this is not enough. Looks almost red-y and cross-y enough to me.
  
  I have no idea if it was a factor in this case, but perhaps the Law of Armed Conflict training could include an update of symbol recognition, aside from a cross or crescent. The military might also find some knowledge of the languages combatants might encounter, and a briefing about things in the area they were planning to bomb (like hospitals) to be useful.
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Kamai - Looming and InevitableBrendan O'Connor
4/29/16 1:56pm
Jesus. Might as well just use the old "shit happens" excuse.
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  VtDkDudeKamai - Looming and Inevitable
  4/29/16 2:01pm
  They did. They just used a slight variant in order to not come off completely callous.
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  Kamai - Looming and InevitableVtDkDude
  4/29/16 2:03pm
  Well, swing and a miss on their part then.
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Ed SpockBrendan O'Connor
4/29/16 2:01pm
“Fog of War”.....what a crock of shit.

I don’t see how a pilot listening to a Pink Floyd song can be an excuse for something like this happening.
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  IanEd Spock
  4/29/16 2:08pm
  “A voice in my head told me to render them comfortably numb!!”
  
  :(
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ArdenBrendan O'Connor
4/29/16 2:22pm
Government: “whoopsies!”

American People: “awwww, well guys, they did say ‘whoopsies’ let’s not make a big deal out of this. These things just happen, you know?”
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  Doofenschmirtz, Inc.Arden
  4/29/16 2:27pm
  The problem isn’t really the “fog of war” excuse. It’s that nobody else except the army can use that excuse.
  
  If you get caught robbing someone, you don’t get a “fog of poverty” excuse.
  
  If you get caught with illegal drugs, you don’t get a “fog of addiction” excuse.
  
  If you get caught cheating at school, you don’t get a “fog of not having studied” excuse.
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  interrogator-chaplainDoofenschmirtz, Inc.
  4/29/16 5:15pm
  Too be fair, if it’s really foggy out and you hit someone on a highway, you might get out of it with a “Fog of highway” excuse.
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MyMostPreciousBrendan O'Connor
4/29/16 2:03pm
“General Joseph Votel’s assertion that a war crime must be deliberate, or intentional, is flatly wrong,” Sifton said.

Sorry Sifton, you’re either an idiot or a liar.

What the General stated is that it’s not a War Crime to blow up a Hospital unless you do it on purpose. And he is correct.

There are other types of War Crimes which don’t require it to be intentional, but this is not one of them and the General never said anything about ALL War Crimes.
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  hydroxideMyMostPrecious
  4/29/16 3:52pm
  What the General stated is that it’s not a War Crime to blow up a Hospital unless you do it on purpose. And he is correct.
  
  Right, of course. Just like when a thief says that if you run away with a big screen TV and the door is open, it’s not really theft. After all, why should their be independent arbiters of justice...
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  Zsa Zsa Gaborghydroxide
  4/30/16 2:08am
  No, it’s more like if you accidentally pick up the wrong suitcase at baggage claim, you’re not guilty of theft.
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Murry ChangBrendan O'Connor
4/29/16 2:04pm
Yeah that would always screw me over in Warcraft and Command & Conquer too. I would end up bombing my own medics instead of those damn commies!
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