16 US Forces Disciplined for Kabul Hospital Bombing Raid In 2015

Kunduz hospital bombing: 16 US forces ‘disciplined’ | BBC News |

Sixteen US military personnel have been punished with disciplinary measures over the bombing of an Afghan hospital that left 42 dead, officials say.

No criminal charges have been filed, according to an unnamed official quoted by the AP news agency.

The attack on the Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital took place last October during a campaign to retake the city of Kunduz from Taliban forces.

A US military inquiry has already found that the attack was “human error”.

US to release report on failings leading to airstrike on Afghanistan hospital | The Guardian |

The service members, including some special operations personnel and one general officer, received administrative punishments, AP said. They include letters of reprimand, which could have a career-ending effect on those involved.

An AC-130 gunship aircraft mistook the clinic for a nearby government building that had been seized by Taliban fighters.

US officials initially claimed that American forces had struck the hospital because they had come under fire from the area. The military then admitted the strike was a mistake and launched an investigation.

Medecins Sans Frontieres called the incident a war crime. In a report, the group said its staff contacted US-led forces several times during the attack, saying they were being bombed.

The charity also said the co-ordinates of the hospital were well-known and had been communicated again to all sides three days before the bombing. It repeatedly asked for an independent international investigation into the bombardment.

Army Gen John Campbell, the top US commander in Afghanistan at the time, called the incident a “tragic but avoidable accident caused primarily by human error”.

US President Barack Obama apologised for the air strike, which was one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in the 15-year Afghan conflict.  

My earlier diaries on topic of MSF hospital bombing by US forces:

US Attack on Hospital In Kunduz Was Brutal and Deliberate
MSF Chief: Deliberate Bombing Hospital in Kunduz A War Crime

FBI Arrests Farook’s Brother and Russian Women for Visa Fraud

FBI arrests brother of San Bernardino terrorist and 2 others on marriage fraud charges | LA Times |

Federal agents arrested three people, including the older brother of San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook, on charges of marriage fraud and lying to federal investigators on Thursday morning, authorities said.

Syed Raheel Farook, his wife, Tatiana Farook, and her sister Mariya Chernykh are charged in a five-count indictment filed in federal court alleging that Chernykh entered into a fraudulent marriage with Enrique Marquez Jr., who has been accused of providing weapons used in the deadly Dec. 2 attack at the Inland Regional Center.

Two people were arrested at Farook’s home in Corona after the FBI conducted a search warrant Thursday, according to Sgt. Paul Mercado, a spokesman for the Corona Police Department. A second search warrant was served at Chernykh’s home in Ontario, federal prosecutors said.

In the course of the investigation into the terrorist attack, federal authorities said they determined Marquez received money to marry Chernykh, who took part in the wedding only to gain legal status in the U.S. FBI agents interrogated Chernykh as part of the inquiry into the terror attack, and prosecutors say she lied during those interviews by pretending that she lived with Marquez when she actually resided in Ontario.


They were charged with conspiring to concoct the illusion of a marriage between Marquez and Chernykh and face up to five years in federal prison if convicted. Chernykh also was charged with fraud, misuse of visas and other documents, perjury and two counts of lying to federal investigators. Those additional charges together carry a maximum sentence of up to 25 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Nothing we didn’t already suspect from the very beginning …

San Bernardino Terror Link to Tatars by Marriage by Oui on Dec. 9th, 2015  

Popular Like the Clap

The public has noticed:

The Republican Party’s image, already quite negative, has slipped since last fall. Currently 33% of the public has a favorable impression of the Republican Party, while 62% have an unfavorable view. Unfavorable opinions of the GOP are now as high as at any point since 1992.

In October, 37% viewed the Republican Party favorably and 58% viewed it unfavorably. The decline in favorability since then has largely come among Republicans themselves: In the current survey, 68% of Republicans view their party positively, down from 79% last fall.

By contrast, public views of the Democratic Party are unchanged since October. Currently, 45% of the public has a favorable impression of the Democratic Party, while 50% have an unfavorable opinion.

Now is the time to say the Democrats are also in disarray.

Ralph Nader’s Getting the Band Back Together

Whatever you might think about Ralph Nader as a presidential candidate, you should acknowledge his enormous contributions to consumer rights and safety, ecology, and good government. He spawned a generation of organizers that became known as Nader’s Raiders. It all really got started fifty years ago when Nader published Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile, a scathing critique of the auto industry’s indifference to driver safety, pollution, and even pedestrians.

To commemorate the book and to celebrate all the work that has been since, Nader is holding a conference May 23rd-May 26th in Washington DC at the DAR Constitution Hall. Dubbed the Breaking Through Power conference, it will have a large roster of speakers, many of whom you probably know nothing about. You might know some of them, however. Phil Donahue will be there. So will Jim Hightower. Bush administration critics Lawrence Wilkerson and Paul Pillar will make appearances, and you’ll be able to see presentations by folks like Bruce Fein, Obama-critic Jonathan Turley, and the famous whistleblower John Kiriakou.

The conference is organized with a theme for each day. The first day is general, but Day Two is about the media, Day Three is about militarism, and Day Four is about Congress. If you’re interested, you’ll be able to see filmmaker Michael Moore on the media day, prominent Bernie supporter Rep. Raul Grijalva on the day dedicated to war, and Fein and Turley discuss the legislative process on the 26th.

Nader is characterizing the gathering as a “citizen mobilization.”

The theme of this citizen mobilization will be elaborating ways to break through power to secure long-overdue democratic solutions made possible by a new muscular civic nexus between local communities and Washington, D.C.

On these four days, speakers will present innovative ideas and strategies designed to take existing civic groups to higher levels of effectiveness. The participants will be asked to support the creation of several new organizations. One such group will work to open up the commercial media, which use the public airwaves free of charge, to serious content. Another will facilitate action by retired military, national security and diplomatic officials who want to deter unconstitutional and unlawful plunges into wars that lead to calamitous and costly blowbacks.

This “Civic Mobilization” will involve thousands of people at Constitution Hall and around the country and connect long-available knowledge to long-neglected action for the necessities and aspirations of people from all backgrounds. Many of the presentations will feature reforms and redirections for the common good enjoy Left/Right support.

Nader is obviously hoping to use the anniversary of Unsafe at Any Speed as a catalyst to organize for significant new pressure points, and he’s trying to muster as much progressive support as he can get.

If you’re going to be around and you’re interested, you can register here.

Boehner Won’t Vote for Cruz

Former Speaker of the House John Boehner made news last night when he made an appearance at Stanford University.

“You can call me boner, beaner, jackass, happy to answer to almost anything,” said former Speaker of the House John Boehner as he took the stage at CEMEX Auditorium on Wednesday evening. Boehner joined David M. Kennedy, faculty director and history professor emeritus, in a talk hosted by Stanford in Government (SIG) and the Stanford Speakers Bureau.

Naturally, the discussion focused on Boehner’s time at the helm of the House of Representatives, but they also discussed his view of the presidential race.

Segueing into the topic, Kennedy asked Boehner to be frank given that the event was not being broadcasted, and the former Speaker responded in kind. When specifically asked his opinions on Ted Cruz, Boehner made a face, drawing laughter from the crowd.

“Lucifer in the flesh,” the former speaker said. “I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.”

Boehner went on to say that he’s “texting buddies” with Donald Trump, has played a lot of golf with him over the years, and that, although he doesn’t agree with all his policy proposals, he would vote for him in November. However, he bluntly said that he would not vote for Ted Cruz.

During his time as Speaker, Boehner struggled to deal with the non-reality-based Freedom Caucus rump of his party, and Sen. Ted Cruz played a big role in egging that faction on. This explains most of the animosity that Boehner is nursing now. But it would be a mistake to see Boehner as very grounded in reality himself, because he easily slips into the most submental conspiratorial gibberish.

On Clinton, Boehner’s reviews were more mixed. Early in the talk, the speaker impersonated Clinton, saying “Oh I’m a woman, vote for me,” to a negative crowd reaction. Later, he added that he had known Clinton for 25 years and finds her to be very accomplished and smart.

Boehner also speculated about surprises that could come closer to the Democratic National Convention if Hillary Clinton’s emails became a larger scandal.

“Don’t be shocked … if two weeks before the convention, here comes Joe Biden parachuting in and Barack Obama fanning the flames to make it all happen,” Boehner said.

At least in theory, the president could use his influence over the Justice Department and the Intelligence Community to turn Clinton’s email server issue into a crippling liability right before the Democratic convention in Philadelphia. He might then, in typical Frank Underwood style, orchestrate things so that Joe Biden could “parachute in” and act as the party’s savior.

But, despite Boehner’s previous seat in the highest corridors of power where he might have gleaned animosities that are invisible to the rest of us, there isn’t the slightest outward sign that President Obama is displeased to see Clinton emerge as his likely successor. The president has remained ostensibly neutral during the primaries, but he quietly got his message out that he preferred Clinton to Sanders, and that was reflected in (among other things) how the black community voted in the South and elsewhere.

It could be that the president actually would prefer Biden to Clinton, but to suggest that he would misuse his powers to sabotage Clinton at this late date in order to secure the presidency for his friend Biden is heat-fevered lunacy as far as I am concerned.

Boehner is supposed to be the sane one, and yet he’s just as infected as the rest of them.

Still, the fact that he wouldn’t vote for Cruz is a canary in the coal mine. Consider that during part of Boehner’s speakership his partner was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. And McConnell stated publicly just before the New York primary that he was still hoping for a brokered convention that could stop Trump. The most obvious beneficiary of a brokered convention would be Ted Cruz.

This is the definition of a fractured party.

Sanders Supporters: Take Heart

I hope Bernie Sanders supporters will read this and take heart. In 1984, Jessie Jackson came to the convention in a situation much like Bernie’s position this time. He had a lot of fervent supporters but not enough to win. In return for his endorsement of the ticket, he wanted concessions of real value.

Jessie asked, among other things, for a change to the rules that would push the party in a more progressive direction. As a result of those negotiations, the Democrats agreed to proportional voting for future primaries — the system current in effect. (Jackson had 9% of the delegates after winning more than 20% of the vote.)

But for that change, Barack Obama would not have won in 2008. Hillary would have smoked him. She was winning the big states like Pennsylvania but because of proportional voting, this upstart candidate didn’t get shut out. He was able to make up the difference in other states, particularly caucus states.

Do you think Jessie was gratified upon the election of the first African-American candidate? I recall images of tears running down his face as he listened to Obama’s victory speech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_IFzZkki44

That same rule change has also allowed Bernie to do as well as he has. Under the old rules, he would have been steamrolled. Like Obama, he had a real shot. He just couldn’t convince minorities; that’s why he’s losing and apparently not going to pull this out. But do not think that all is lost.

Sanders will insist on real concessions of his own in return for his support of the ticket. Some may be structural, like the one just described. He may insist Hillary adopt policy positions. He’ll get a lot I’m sure because, at the end of the day, his performance will have been far better than Jackson’s and Clinton will really want his people on board in the battle to come.

What he’s done is really impressive. Consider that Hillary froze out all the other highly-regarded candidates (e.g. Biden and Warren) because she seemed so overwhelmingly favored. Sanders hung in far longer than most anyone thought possible.

Negotiations will run for a while now, probably through the convention. Hopefully, like Jessie Jackson, Bernie will get concessions that on some fine day will leave him and his supporters in tears.

Casual Observation

Trump pretty much wraps up the Republican nomination and the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House gets fifteen months in prison. It must be time to write a few “Democrats in disarray” columns.

Ireland to get a Government at last?

In Political Paralysis in Ireland? I wrote about the inconclusive outcome to the Irish general election of February 2016 and predicted that we were in for a prolonged period of Kabuki theatre where the major parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, would be dancing around each other without holding hands and with everyone else trying to force the unwilling couple to mate.

It is now over two months since that election, and I have revisited that diary on occasion to see if an update was required and concluded that no, nothing much new was really happening. Fianna Fail have been anxious to avoid the fate of minority partners in previous Irish coalition Governments which traditionally get hammered at the next election. So a straightforward coalition which would have provided a large working majority was out of the question.

In addition, the lack of an ideological distinction between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail only seemed to magnify the personality and trust issues between them. Fintan O’Toole, channeling Sigmund Freud, calls it the , narcissism of minor difference.

Jonathan Swift, who got there before Freud, has a vicious conflict in Gulliver’s Travels, between the Big-Endians, who break their boiled eggs at the larger point, and Little-Endians who break theirs at the smaller one.

Instead of a straightforward coalition, it now looks as if we are going to get a minority Fine Gael government with a small rag bag of Independent and small parties kept on life support by Fianna Fail abstaining on major votes of confidence.  Whether this strategy succeeds in allowing Fianna Fail to escape the blame for unpopular Government decisions remains to be seen.  I can see Sinn Fein and the other opposition parties and independents excoriating them at every turn for maintaining in office a widely unpopular Government with only a 25-30% support base.

Things have come to this sorry pass because the only alternative was another General Election, a la Spain, with no guarantee of a very different outcome. This was the scenario feared by all because there was no way of telling whom the electorate might blame for the impasse. The last General election in February had resulted in a huge protest vote for all sorts of parties and independents none of whom had any intention of joining a Government as a minority partner.

It may surprise outsiders to learn that the alleged crunch presenting issue which has held up the formation of a Government for over two months was the issue of water charges. Given that these are ubiquitous throughout Europe, just what was the big deal? And the answer is: not a lot.

Historically the water production and waste treatment and distribution infrastructure has been the responsibility of 31 quite small local authorities.  This has resulted in a huge duplication of administrative resources, chronic under-investment, the lack of an overall national strategic development plan, and poor outcomes in terms of water quality, leakage, and waste water disposal.  In some instances the lack of any public charging infrastructure may also have led to the attitude that water was a free resource to be wasted at will.  

Meanwhile, many more rural areas had no public water or waste water disposal services, and householders had to provide their own wells and septic tanks or pay into private water schemes (This writer being a case in point!).

The 2007-11 Fianna Fail led Government, under pressure from the EU and the Troika, had agreed to the introduction of water meters and usage based charges for all as a means of raising additional revenue in Ireland’s then suddenly very straightened circumstances. This was naturally very unpopular with all who had been used to receiving water as a free service, and came on top of a lot of other austerity measures which were greatly squeezing household disposable incomes. There was also the rather unfortunate history of the privatisation of general household waste disposal services which had resulted in much higher charges for reduced services.

True to form, that Fianna Fail led Government procrastinated on the actual implementation of water metering and charges which meant that the Fine Gael led Government had to deal with the issue on coming into office in 2011. There was also the problem of poor water quality, widespread leakage from the often ancient piping systems, and the impossibly complex issue of upgrading an entire infrastructure managed by 34 different local authorities.

Logically enough, the Fine Gael Government sought to rationalise the whole system by consolidating the relevant local authority personnel into one national water authority “Irish Water” with a mandate to produce and implement a national infrastructural development plan to address the water quality and leakage issues. This was a slow and expensive process and was going to cost many Billions of Euros.  It is now the common wisdom and unchallengeable assertion of all that this process was handled very badly. Precisely how it could have been handled otherwise has yet to be articulated by any expert body.

The agreement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to form a minority Fine Gael led government tolerated if not supported by Fianna Fail has yet to be published, but is said to include a suspension of water charges, a refund of charges already paid, the setting up of a Commission to examine how water services should be funded and delivered in the future, followed by referral to a Dail committee to examine the Commission report, and perhaps, finally, a parliamentary vote on how to proceed. In other words, the charges have been abolished for the lifetime of this Government, at the very least, as there is no way that this Parliament, the majority of whose members have been elected on an anti-water charges platform, is ever going to support their introduction.

Fianna Fail, which was actually in power when the water charges were agreed, will have led the charge for their abolition and hope that the electorate will have forgotten about their prior role in introducing them by the time the next general election comes around. Sinn Fein, which also initially supported the principle of metering and charging for water, will also have succeeded in shifting the burden of blame onto both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. Meanwhile, it is unclear how the current problems with water quality and leakage will be addressed. An Irish solution to an Irish problem, as former (corrupt) Taoiseach Charles Haughey said when making contraceptives available in Ireland only under medical prescription.

We should be clear however, that the Irish Water debacle was not a case of privatising a public utility and resource. Irish Water was always going to be a state owned utility. The issue was how it should be structured and funded: whether a scarce and expensive resource could be better managed and conserved by charging at the point of use, with charges proportionate to usage after the provision of an initial free entitlement. Of course the creation of Irish Water might have facilitated a future government to increase charges and/or privatise the utility, and perhaps that was what some of the public anxiety was about. Political assurances don’t count for much any more.

But there are also many other difficult issues facing the incoming Government, which will now probably be composed of a relatively small talent pool of 50 Fine Gael TD’s and a few independents. Growing international economic uncertainty, the possibility of Brexit, and many public sector and public utility workers threatening strike action for pay increases or the restoration of pay cuts incurred during the Troika years. There may well be good strategic and career protection reasons why so many elected politicians do not want to be in Government right now.  There is nothing like a public transport or teachers strike the raise the temperature on all sides.

The truth is, however, that the Irish economy has made a remarkable recovery since 2012.  Growth last year was 7% of GDP and is projected to be c. 5% this year and 4% next year. Unemployment is down from 15.1% to 8.6% currently and projected to decline further. The debt/GDP ration is down from 120% at the height of the crisis to 100% last year and a projected 88% this year. The headline budget deficit was down to 2% last year and a projected 1% this year – well inside the European Growth and Stability Pact limits.  There is thus considerable scope for any new Government to restore cuts to public services, invest in infrastructural development, and agree rises in public sector pay levels.  

The question is, will any government survive long enough to do so?  I would expect acting Taoiseach Enda Kenny to retire soon, followed, perhaps, by Finance Minister Michael Noonan after the next budget.  A new generation of Fine Gael politicians will take the helm less encumbered by the unpopularity of past decisions.  Fianna Fail cannot afford any Fine Gael Government to get too popular, and will be itching to pull the trigger before any of this can happen. Perhaps to pre-empt this, a new Fine Gael leader may call a general election sooner rather than later in the hope of gaining a more substantial mandate. The suspension of water charges gets not just Fianna Fail, but also Fine Gael off the hook, and deprives the opposition of their main issue in hammering the Government.

Perhaps, in the next election, when it happens, people will actually vote for a government rather than a vast majority of opposition protest politicians. You really only appreciate having a government when you don’t have one, or one without much power to do anything for lack of a consensus in the Dail or in the country as a whole.

A Keystone View of Election Night

I have a few things of local note to discuss. The top of the list is the upset victory by my longtime acquaintance and fellow progressive Philly blogging compatriot Chris Rabb, who is now the Democratic nominee to represent Pennsylvania’s 200th congressional district in the state House. It’s been a rollercoaster ride for Chris. If you didn’t see it, his campaign made national news because of it’s involvement with a terrible tragedy on Sunday:

Alex Cherry chatted with Chris Rabb, a Democratic candidate for a seat in the Pennsylvania State House, on Sunday, saying he planned to work the polls in the upcoming election.

Impressed, Rabb and a volunteer encouraged the 21-year-old to join the campaign, Rabb said later in a statement.

“He was enthusiastic about the political process,” Rabb said.

Then, as Cherry was still speaking with the campaign worker, a man came up behind the 21-year-old and shot him in the head, according to Philadelphia Police.

The shooter “walked up and deliberately shot someone with every intent of killing,” said Police Commissioner Richard Ross, WPVI reported.

After shooting Cherry once, the suspect walked away for a moment and then returned to shoot Cherry twice more, according to police.

Cherry died while holding a piece of campaign literature, Rabb campaign manager Chris Visco told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the shooting. Sunday night, a friend of Alex Cherry was also shot and killed.

Police say another shooting that took place hours later may be connected to Cherry’s killing. Just blocks away, witnesses told police that someone got out of a red SUV and shot into a crowd. One of those shots hit Elijah Frazier, 18, who ran into a Chinese take-out restaurant with a fatal gunshot wound, police said.

Frazier was taken to a local hospital, where he died. A bullet also grazed the head of a 17-year-old, police said.

Both Frazier and Cherry were friends who belonged to a group that had an ongoing dispute with another group, Philadelphia’s Homicide Capt. James Clark told reporters Monday, AP reported.

There was nothing particularly unusual about these shootings–they are as regular as the rain in these neighborhoods of Philadelphia. But this is the first time, I think, someone has been shot and killed while discussing a political campaign with a candidate and a campaign volunteer.

In other news, State Rep. Mark Cohen, who is my Facebook friend but less of an acquaintance than someone whose path crosses mine from time to time, was unexpectedly defeated by a complete upstart- a community organizer named Jared Solomon. I know nothing about Solomon, but Cohen has served in the Pennsylvania House since 1974, making him the longest-serving member in Harrisburg. He’s also the son of legendary Philadelphia city councilmember David Cohen who served in that capacity in the late-1960’s and then uninterrupted from 1980 until his death in 2005. As you can imagine, this election result is pretty big news in the City of Brotherly Love and even statewide.

Another guy I’ve crossed paths with several times over the years is Dwight Evans. State Rep. Evans has been in the state House of Representatives since 1981 serving the 203rd District. He’s attempted to get a more prominent job several times, running for mayor twice, for lieutenant governor once, and also running for governor in 1994. Last night he essentially became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives by defeating Rep. Chaka Fattah in the Democratic primary. This was a blow to Rep. Bob Brady who stuck his neck out for Fattah despite the fact that Fattah is going on trial in mid-May for “racketeering, conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and bank fraud.”

It was a victory for Gov. Tom Wolf and Mayor Jim Kenney, who both endorsed Evans.

To make things a little more interesting, Dwight Evans was not pleased to see Chris Rabb win.

Evans and [former City Councilwoman Marian] Tasco are leaders of the Northwest Coalition, an alliance of African-American politicians. The fact that Evans won the primary election is significant because it solidifies the coalition’s position as one of the most powerful political factions in Philadelphia. The group also counts Councilman Derek Green and Councilwoman Cherelle Parker on its team. Today, the coalition’s official Election Day lunch spot, Relish, drew bigger crowds than Famous 4th Street Deli, the power crowd’s traditional electoral lunch hangout.

The only dark cloud on the day for the Northwest Coalition was Chris Rabb’s defeat of Tonyelle Cook-Artis in the 200th District state House race. “Obviously, I’m disappointed that she did not win,” said Evans of Cook-Artis’ loss.

Presumably, once Evans gets a little accustomed to Capitol Hill, he will worry himself much less about who serves in Harrisburg.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton came close to winning every ward in Philadelphia as part of a strong statewide victory. Clinton also dominated in the suburban ring counties of Philadelphia. In my own swing county (Chester), Clinton got 33,000 votes and Trump got about 35,000. Sighting actual Trump voters at the polls in my traditionally moderate Republican area was certainly disheartening and not a little disturbing.

The last bit of big news out of the Keystone State last night was the relatively easy victory Katie McGinty enjoyed over Joe Sestak and John Fetterman. She should probably be favored to unseat Sen. Pat Toomey, but she’s never run a successful political campaign before, so it remains to be seen how she performs on the campaign trail. If Hillary Clinton is winning Pennsylvania big at the top of the ticket, it’s going to be hard for Toomey to split off enough votes to get reelected, and the Democratic strategists believe that Clinton and McGinty will complement each other and amplify each other’s strengths and demographic appeal to suburban women who have a very low opinion of Donald Trump. McGinty was pushed by Democratic Party bigwigs who have a strained relationship with former congressman Sestak. President Obama even endorsed her, as well as Attorney General candidate Josh Shapiro, who also won.

So, overall, it was a mixed night for the Philly-area Democrats with an interesting set of winners and losers.