Preventable errors led to Kunduz hospital attack, US military says

[webfact]

Preventable errors led to hospital attack, military says
By ROBERT BURNS, LYNNE O'DONNELL and KEN DILANIAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. airstrike that killed 31 civilians at a hospital in Afghanistan last month resulted from preventable errors by soldiers and airmen who violated rules of engagement and have been removed from duty while awaiting further investigation, military officials said Wednesday.

A briefing in Kabul provided the latest U.S. explanation but left some questions unanswered about an attack in which an internationally run hospital was subjected to barrages of heavy fire from an AC-130 gunship. Among them: how the attack was ordered in a populated area based on a ground commander's request with little apparent review by higher headquarters.

Gen. John Campbell, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said the airstrike was supposed to have been directed at a nearby facility being used as a Taliban command center but the warplane fired at the wrong building.

After the plane's targeting sensors malfunctioned, he said, the crew relied on a physical description to home in on the target. But no Americans on the ground were in position to see the hospital.

"This was a tragic but avoidable accident caused primarily by human error," said Campbell, who described the results of parallel investigations to reporters in Afghanistan and listening in at the Pentagon in Washington.

A summary of one of the investigations, obtained by The Associated Press, said that witnesses differed in their versions of how and why the strike was authorized. It also said the Special Forces commander who called in the strike, identified by AP sources as a major, had been given the coordinates of the hospital two days before but said he didn't recall seeing them.

Investigators found that the aircrew continued the attack despite observing no hostile activity from the hospital, operated by the international group Doctors Without Borders. It found no evidence that armed Taliban were operating from there.

Campbell said several people had been removed from duty over the incident as they await potential criminal prosecution or administrative discipline, although he declined to say who and how many. His spokesman, Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, said those who called in and carried out the airstrike violated U.S. rules of engagement and used force that was disproportionate to the threat — language that suggests a possible international law violation.

"The investigating officer's recommendations on this have been referred to the proper authorities for disposition," Shoffner said.

Neither Campbell nor Shoffner addressed the broader policy and leadership questions raised by the attack, the latest in a line of airstrike mistakes in Afghanistan that at various times have led to tightening of the rules of engagement. Shoffner would not say whether Campbell, who was out of the country during the incident, was interviewed as part of the investigation.

In a blistering statement, Doctors without Borders director Christopher Stokes said, "The frightening catalog of errors outlined today illustrates gross negligence on the part of U.S. forces and violations of the rules of war."

He renewed his group's call for an independent international investigation, something the U.S. has blocked by declining to consent.

Doctors Without Borders has long raised the possibility that the hospital was targeted deliberately. The AP previously reported that the military believed the hospital had been taken by the Taliban, and Afghan officials in recent days have argued that the strike was justified for that reason. Campbell did not address those issues as he asserted that the assault was a mistake.

According to the report obtained by AP and to Campbell's account, the AC-130 was sent on short notice after a report of "troops in contact."

As a result, the aircrew did not get a pre-flight briefing and was not given a list of protected facilities on a "no strike" list that should have included the hospital.

During the flight, Campbell said, the aircraft's electronic systems malfunctioned, preventing it from transmitting video or sending or receiving email. That meant the Air Force controller on the ground was hampered in aiding the targeting.

Campbell said the strike was requested by Afghan forces but relayed through a U.S. Special Forces commander who was located a half-mile from the hospital, at the provincial governor's compound, where he had been under attack for five days.

The AC-130 crew was given the coordinates for an Afghan intelligence building about 450 yards from the hospital, where Afghan forces were said to be in danger. But because the plane had moved to avoid a missile, its targeting sensors were off, and they pointed the crew to an open field.

The crew then relied on a physical description relayed by the commander to find what it thought was the right target. Even when its computer eventually found the correct coordinates, Campbell said, the crew ignored them because it was "fixated on the physical description of the facility."

Other contributing factors, the investigation found, were that the maps used by the U.S. Special Forces commander did not label the medical facility, and that the hospital roof did not have markings to distinguish it as a protected medical establishment.

Immediately before firing, the aircrew relayed the coordinates of the hospital, to its headquarters, where officers knew it to be on the no-strike list, Campbell said. But nobody realized the mistake in time.

The plane fired 211 shells over 29 minutes before commanders understood the mistake, according to the military report. Doctors Without Borders contacted coalition military personnel during the attack to say its facility was "being 'bombed' from the air."

It took 17 minutes for special forces commanders to order a halt. By then the attack was over.
___

Lynne O'Donnell reported from Kabul.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-11-26

[Dustdevil]

Yeah, not good. When they talk about "shells," they mean those coming from the onboard 105mm cannon. So many shells?? And why was the hospital roof not painted with a red crescent? And why on earth would Doctors Without Borders jump to a war crime conclusion immediately? Obviously a gross error, but come on. It serves no U.S. purpose to go around bombing hospitals.

And can you imagine the Russians owning up to a serious error? Never.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Dustdevil

[craigt3365]

Horrible event, but at least they are admitting a mistake was made and trying to get to the bottom of it. In as much of a transparent manner as possible.

[spidermike007]

The aspect of this attack that is difficult to understand is that Doctors called the commanders when the attack started, and made them aware of the fact that the hospital was being bombarded. If the attack went on for 29 minutes, why couldn't it be called off? What is up with that? Why would they allow it to continue, knowing civilians were being targeted, Doctors were being slaughtered, and innocents were being harmed? The original argument was that it was an enemy stronghold. But, if they were warned off, what gives? Why such fabulous incompetence all around?

[oneday]

The errors better have been preventable, otherwise they are saying this could happen again. Someone needs to burn for this.

[impulse]

They said the same about bombing the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

[spidermike007]

The errors better have been preventable, otherwise they are saying this could happen again. Someone needs to burn for this.

It would be nice to see the secdef or the president or the army chief of staff or a four star punished for this. But it will probably be a couple of grunts low on the totem pole. All blame will probably be defected upon expendable smaller guys.

[spidermike007]

The errors better have been preventable, otherwise they are saying this could happen again. Someone needs to burn for this.

It would be nice to see the secdef or the president or the army chief of staff or a four star punished for this. But it will probably be a couple of grunts low on the totem pole. All blame will probably be defected upon expendable smaller guys. The whole explanation sound weak, and deliberately intended to deflect blame from the higher authorities, who most likely authorized the attack.

The errors better have been preventable, otherwise they are saying this could happen again. Someone needs to burn for this.

It would be nice to see the secdef or the president or the army chief of staff or a four star punished for this. But it will probably be a couple of grunts low on the totem pole. All blame will probably be defected upon expendable smaller guys.

[retarius]

'Human error', 'collateral damage' blah blah blah. A blatant disregard for human life. Anyone who knows anything about the situation knows that the US thought there was a high value target inside the hospital and bombed it with a blatant disregard for the lives of the patients and staff in the hospital. A war crime. Those responsible for implementing and approving this horror need to be prosecuted for war crimes.

[Prbkk]

Yeah, not good. When they talk about "shells," they mean those coming from the onboard 105mm cannon. So many shells?? And why was the hospital roof not painted with a red crescent? And why on earth would Doctors Without Borders jump to a war crime conclusion immediately? Obviously a gross error, but come on. It serves no U.S. purpose to go around bombing hospitals.

And can you imagine the Russians owning up to a serious error? Never.

Can imagine the outpouring of rage if it HAD been the Russians

[robblok]

Yeah, not good. When they talk about "shells," they mean those coming from the onboard 105mm cannon. So many shells?? And why was the hospital roof not painted with a red crescent? And why on earth would Doctors Without Borders jump to a war crime conclusion immediately? Obviously a gross error, but come on. It serves no U.S. purpose to go around bombing hospitals.

And can you imagine the Russians owning up to a serious error? Never.

Can imagine the outpouring of rage if it HAD been the Russians

In my book the rage is the same. Someone needs to be punished here. But i doubt the US will do so.

Not saying that the Russians would they might be even worse.

In the end i doubt that people will go to jail for this.

[craigt3365]

'Human error', 'collateral damage' blah blah blah. A blatant disregard for human life. Anyone who knows anything about the situation knows that the US thought there was a high value target inside the hospital and bombed it with a blatant disregard for the lives of the patients and staff in the hospital. A war crime. Those responsible for implementing and approving this horror need to be prosecuted for war crimes.

BS. Air force crew are highly trained professionals. There is NO WAY they would attack a hospital like this if they know the exact details.

Please read the entire article. With an open mind. Many mistake were made, including one by the hospital for not having it labeled properly on the roof:

Other contributing factors, the investigation found, were that the maps used by the U.S. Special Forces commander did not label the medical facility, and that the hospital roof did not have markings to distinguish it as a protected medical establishment.

Blame lies across many on this one. But a terrible incident.

[IAMHERE]

The errors better have been preventable, otherwise they are saying this could happen again. Someone needs to burn for this.

I'd suggest whoever let these doctors go there in harms way to begin with. They should not have had passports. Each one knew of the danger and went anyway. They understood that they were not protected from the haze of war.

[Jonmarleesco]

'... spokesman, Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, said those who called in and carried out the airstrike violated U.S. rules of engagement ...' I didn't realise the US recognised rules of engagement, unless it suited them.​

[lucky11]

Horrible event, but at least they are admitting a mistake was made and trying to get to the bottom of it. In as much of a transparent manner as possible.

You what!!! As simple as that, is it? well that's all right then, just don't do it again.

Admitting a mistake, how about a dozen mistakes, errors and ignoring facts, as well as lying, distorting the truth, feeble excuses, not adhering to International rules of engagement, conveniently forgetting they had been given the co-ordinates of the hospital (several times over a period of days) and warned to steer clear of firing at a medical establishment. Add to this cover-ups, more lies, denials and personnel over stepping their ranks and issuing commands that they are not permitted to do. I bet that they said the target building is lots of square shapes stuck together and made of cement with a roof over it, just how could they go wrong?

Why is it that the US botches just about everything it is involved in? I won't get into friendly fire as I fear that I won't be able to stop.

[gandalf12]

Unfortunately the USA makes a lot of these types of mistakes. Vietnam was a classic case and the Chinese Embassy in the Balkens. In that one even National Geographic thought it was stupid. As they put it "Just look at one of our mps for th are and you can clearly see it was the Chinese embassy"

[DaddyWarbucks]

They said the same about bombing the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

...and remember how quickly that incident went down the memory hole.

Was anyone ever held accountable in that case?

[Chicog]

The pilots who still launched an attack without targeting sensors or ground-based intel are obviously just gung ho juveniles and need some jail time to reflect on the murders they committed.

[Chicog]

BS. Air force crew are highly trained professionals. There is NO WAY they would attack a hospital like this if they know the exact details.

Suffice to say that you should stop embarrassing yourself. Your air force has a reputation for screwing up; it's been doing it since Korea.

The air force have killed a fair few of your own as well.

Not that others don't do it too, but you do seem to make a habit of it. In fact it was only a few weeks ago when you bombed a load of friendly Afghans if I recall.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._friendly-fire_incidents_since_1945_with_British_victims

I suspect it's just the gung ho excitement of being in a war and some fairly young heads that lose reason, not always down to faulty intelligence.

[craigt3365]

BS. Air force crew are highly trained professionals. There is NO WAY they would attack a hospital like this if they know the exact details.

Suffice to say that you should stop embarrassing yourself. Your air force has a reputation for screwing up; it's been doing it since Korea.

The air force have killed a fair few of your own as well.

Not that others don't do it too, but you do seem to make a habit of it. In fact it was only a few weeks ago when you bombed a load of friendly Afghans if I recall.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._friendly-fire_incidents_since_1945_with_British_victims

I suspect it's just the gung ho excitement of being in a war and some fairly young heads that lose reason, not always down to faulty intelligence.

Be civil. My father was a highly decorated air force pilot. I lived on airbases until I was 18. I've known many pilots. None would do this on purpose. Never. Perhaps you read my reply wrong. Accidents do happen in war, just like in life. Only in war, the consequences can be a bit more brutal.

[spidermike007]

BS. Air force crew are highly trained professionals. There is NO WAY they would attack a hospital like this if they know the exact details.

Suffice to say that you should stop embarrassing yourself. Your air force has a reputation for screwing up; it's been doing it since Korea.

The air force have killed a fair few of your own as well.

Not that others don't do it too, but you do seem to make a habit of it. In fact it was only a few weeks ago when you bombed a load of friendly Afghans if I recall.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._friendly-fire_incidents_since_1945_with_British_victims

I suspect it's just the gung ho excitement of being in a war and some fairly young heads that lose reason, not always down to faulty intelligence.

Be civil. My father was a highly decorated air force pilot. I lived on airbases until I was 18. I've known many pilots. None would do this on purpose. Never. Perhaps you read my reply wrong. Accidents do happen in war, just like in life. Only in war, the consequences can be a bit more brutal.

What you are saying makes total sense, and I believe the pilots would even disobey a command, rather than bomb a civilian hospital intentionally. So what does that mean? Obviously the command came from far higher up the food chain. Hope one of the top guys goes down for this atrocity. That is the least they deserve. A trial, a guilty verdict, a prison term, full loss of their pension, and their rank. Anything less, and it smells of foul play, ill intentions, poor judgment, and horse manure.

[Chicog]

BS. Air force crew are highly trained professionals. There is NO WAY they would attack a hospital like this if they know the exact details.

Suffice to say that you should stop embarrassing yourself. Your air force has a reputation for screwing up; it's been doing it since Korea.

The air force have killed a fair few of your own as well.

Not that others don't do it too, but you do seem to make a habit of it. In fact it was only a few weeks ago when you bombed a load of friendly Afghans if I recall.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._friendly-fire_incidents_since_1945_with_British_victims

I suspect it's just the gung ho excitement of being in a war and some fairly young heads that lose reason, not always down to faulty intelligence.

Be civil. My father was a highly decorated air force pilot. I lived on airbases until I was 18. I've known many pilots. None would do this on purpose. Never. Perhaps you read my reply wrong. Accidents do happen in war, just like in life. Only in war, the consequences can be a bit more brutal.

What you are saying makes total sense, and I believe the pilots would even disobey a command, rather than bomb a civilian hospital intentionally. So what does that mean? Obviously the command came from far higher up the food chain. Hope one of the top guys goes down for this atrocity. That is the least they deserve. A trial, a guilty verdict, a prison term, full loss of their pension, and their rank. Anything less, and it smells of foul play, ill intentions, poor judgment, and horse manure.

Well there is the conundrum - the Warthog jockeys that killed 9 British soldiers in Gulf War I were never taken to task for it, and in fact the US prevented them attending the inquest as well.

So if they'll protect the cowboys at the bottom, there is ---- all chance that anyone senior will be brought to book.

[craigt3365]

Many countries have friendly fire incidents:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendly_fire

This list shows friendly incidents committed by combatants against friendly combatants throughout history. These incidents range from the killing of Royalist commander, the Earl of Kingston, by Royalist cannon fire during the English Civil War, the bombing of American troops by Eighth Air Force bombers during Operation Cobra in World War II, the eight hour firefight between British units during the Cyprus Emergency, the downing of a British helicopter by a British warship during the Falkland War, the shooting of two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters by USAF fighters in 1994 during the Iraqi no-fly zones, and the killing of a Royal Military Policemen by a British sniper during the war in Afghanistan.

[MobileContent]

Horrible event, but at least they are admitting a mistake was made and trying to get to the bottom of it. In as much of a transparent manner as possible.

Yeah, after denying it for a long time.

It would be the best if US forces would just stay inside the United States and protect their country. They have only bring suffering to the people of the world. I had once great respect for them when they liberated the Western Part of the Nazis but their is nothing left of them to be proud of and they can't even take care of their veterans.

[Scott]

Off-topic posts and replies removed.

Please stay on topic.

[MyFriend You]

They said the same about bombing the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

But Records have been shown that prove they were transmitting from a bldg inside that Compound.......their equivalent of our Defense Attache became an Asslyum seeker months after and produced that information.