Comments by "peabase" (@peabase) on "Air strike on Kunduz hospital 'not a war crime' says US military report" video.

+scan95487568 Well, we'll see what transpires after the airstrike in Aleppo, Syria, on a MSF-supported hospital that exacted a similar death toll. It's pretty clear that Russia is to blame for that one, directly or indirectly.
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scan95487568 Credit where credit is due, the Americans eventually own up to their mistakes, but with the Russians that's far from granted. Worse still, they shift the blame. A Russian air force spokesperson already insinuated two USAF A-10s did it.
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scan95487568 Importantly, there was an admission of guilt from the Americans. It would seem the act doesn't fulfil the criteria of a war crime, which implies wilful intent. I call it a blunder of epic proportions. In Aleppo, however, a possible war crime took place. The Russians aren't that concerned about collateral damage, but again wilful intent is unlikely -- if they were directly responsible for the attack. Assad, on the other hand, is known to terrorise his own "people" (he's long lost his mandate to govern over them, if he ever held one to begin with). He's racked up war crimes as if they were parking tickets. At any rate, the Russians don't seem to mind supporting a murderous regime.
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VDSky 59 Not a Yank. You must be a bit thick for not having picked up on that. Reread, rinse and repeat. Contrary to what you claim, Russians are the masters of deflection. The concocted A-10s over Aleppo story is a case in point. Maybe these wild claims fly when preached to the choir in Russia, but anywhere else, Russia's credibility just erodes further -- that is, if anything still remains. Your proof mantra is another. Putin already stretched plausible deniability to implausible proportions long ago. You must think this is a cheesy episode of Matlock, where the guilty party is dramatically revealed in court :-)
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scan95487568 Note that I didn't claim the Americans were neutral. Clearly, they're the accused, judge and jury here. It's just that intentionally bombing a hospital doesn't help their cause any more than it helps that of the Russians. Sure, in the past rogue US soldiers have gone on killing sprees and committed war crimes, but with a tightly-controlled, high-value asset like an AC-130 involved, that's a very unlikely scenario. It's a known fact that the Russian Air Force relies less on precision-guided weapons and even when they do, their accuracy leaves something to be desired. Their use of cluster bombs is conducive to civilians casualties, too. Assad has resorted to state terrorism on various occasions, most conspicuously by strewing barrel bombs over communities that he only suspected of sympathising with the rebels, or just pre-emptively, so they wouldn't develop any rebel sympathies. Given the arbitrary nature of barrel bombs, those are genuine war crimes. Assad knows full well that he'll get the noose if he's ever brought to book, so he's got nothing to lose by targeting hospitals. It all seems that in your eagerness to blame the Americans, you close your eyes to even worse Russian and Syrian excesses. And you wanted to play the hypocrisy card.
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scan95487568 Firstly, officially released Russian bomb damage assessment footage shows cluster bomblets impacting over a wide area and guided weapons missing their mark by a margin that is deemed unacceptable in the West. You tell me what that's all about. Secondly, Russian aircraft have been observed taking off with dumb bombs from Latakia airbase with such regularity that it appears to be the norm. You and your new-found Russian friend, who's now proven himself to be a bit thick, still seem to think I'm an American apologist. In criticising Russian actions, do I somehow have to accept liability for American ones?
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