World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The US has admitted that it made multiple and tragic errors in the attack against the hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan.   The hospital was run by Doctors Without Borders, and the organization contacted the US while the attack was going on and its pleas were ignored.  Among the errors made by the US:

• The crew of the AC-130 gunship was not properly briefed before their mission.
• Air and ground personnel failed to follow rules of engagement.
• The ground commander did not have the authority to direct the airstrike.
• Communications and targeting computer malfunctions targeted the wrong location.
• Once on site, the aircrew independently chose to strike a building they believed to be the legitimate target.
• The aircrew proceeded to use force that was disproportionate to the threat.

There is no way to win a conflict making such egregious mistakes:  such incidents always loom larger than any successes to the populations involved.

The French Parliament has voted 325-0, with 21 abstentions to extend and deepen  the airstrikes against the Islamic State.  The vote indicates the depth of popular sentiment in France after the terrorist attack on Paris.  French President Hollande is also in Russia to persuade Russia to coordinate its attacks on the Islamic State with the NATO countries.

Hollande and Putin

Officials in Burundi are complaining of a campaign of vilification against President Pierre Nkurunziza after the US implemented sanctions against him and his close aides.  The US imposed sanctions after Nkurunziza ran for a constitutionally-prohibited third term in office.  The political tension in the country is continuing to grow, mirroring the conflict that mired the country in a civil war that only ended 10 years ago.

I do not usually post political ads, and I am no supporter of Governor Kasich of Ohio.  But he has launched an ad against Donald Trump that I think deserves viewing.  I post it not because I do not support Trump, but because the ad uses the words of Martin Niemöller, who was a Lutheran pastor who initially supported Adolf Hitler but who then became a staunch anti-Nazi.  These words are important for every generation to remember because they remind us that we are always responsible for each other.