Chandler Olah
American Foreign Policy
Muck
7 October 2015
Mistakes in War
On October 3, 2015
orders were received by the US government to issue an airstrike to combat
militants in the city of Kunduz, Afghanistan. After the dust had settled, the
American military acknowledged that it had killed 12 medical staff members and
at least 10 patients at a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders while firing
on nearby insurgents in the city. The latest reports of the situation were that
President Obama had called the head of Doctors Without Borders Dr. Joanne Liu
to apologize for the incident. Despite the presidential apology, the Doctors
Without Borders chief said it simply wasn’t enough and continues to request
that the US government consent to an independent investigation led by the
International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission to establish what occurred
in Kunduz. Dr. Joanne Liu had much to say in regards to what she calls “an attack
on the Geneva Conventions.” The Doctors Without Borders chief has called for
the respect of the Geneva Conventions and for the “sake of our patients.”
Now, being removed
from the region where this or really any other situation like this occurred, I
can only make educated guesses as to how often civilian casualties are brought
to light in times of conflict. With this in mind, how many times do civilian casualties
go unreported? Is this an oversight or simply negligence? I have several
first-thought ideas when thinking of how to solve this particular problem,
however, no ideas on how to implement them. In order to document the loss of
life in regions of conflict such as those the US is involved in, should keep
documented the loss of life they cause or that is caused by enemy combatants.
Although the
United States has admitted that they were the cause of the tragedy that
occurred at the hospital, it is still hasn’t been revealed as to why it
occurred. How did this happen? Was there a miscommunication? Was it simply an
accident by the gunman? Now, the United States is the world’s foremost leader
in military power and have regulations in place to make sure civilians are not
openly killed, however, perhaps there should be replacements or better use of
judgment when appointing generals to positions where something like this may
occur. This would reduce or perhaps prevent further miscommunications or acts
of negligence on behalf of civilians in areas of conflict. Regardless of why
this tragedy occurred, I believe further steps or stricter military
requirements are required to ensure that it never happens again.
There is no doubt
in my mind that events like this happen all the time. It is my view that in
almost every series of conflicts the United States has been involved there have
been civilian casualties that go unnoticed. The United States Congress ratified
multiple treaties called the Geneva Conventions. These treaties reference the
treatment of civilians or those rendered incapable of fighting during times of
conflict. Now, due to the fact that the United States strives to be the best it
can be in every possible area, perhaps it is time that we rethink the way we
conduct warfare and strive to be the best we can in preventing the number of
civilian casualties in areas of conflict. Preventing casualties is seen as a
completely moral standing in times of conflict, whereas there is no military
gain from doing so. It may often times seem like the United States does what it
does to secure its best interests in the world which may be very well why
certain portions of the Geneva Conventions are overlooked and why casualties of
war are still occurring.
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