Farouk Kashkash, director of the national hospital in Idlib, Syria.
The Guardian is reporting the attack on the hospital run by, Mr. Kashkash took place at 10pm last night and included multiple air strikes. No one is sure if it was Syrian planes, or the Russians. Both air forces have done it before and just about everyone on the ground expects it to continue happening. That's because--you know--nothing says civil war quite like deliberately targeting the wounded and sick and those offering them medical attention.
Right now the death toll, which is expected to rise as the rubble is cleared away, stands at 30, several of them are kids.
According to The Guardian, the Assad regime considers all medical facilities, their staffs and patients in rebel held territory legitimate military targets. Why? Well, because about six years ago when the carnage was beginning the Syrian government passed a law--an anti terrorism measure--saying it was.
That's right. In Syria it's perfectly legal to be just as much of a terrorist as the so called terrorists.
It's not like the attack last night hasn't happened before, or the Syrian government is the only one with bloody hands. Medecins Sans Frontieres said in February that 94 of the facilities they support were hit by air strikes, or shelling in 2015.
In fact early last year the organization, Physicians for Human Rights, claimed it had documented 224 attacks on 175 different medical facilities since the fighting began. Nearly 600 personnel manning those hospitals and clinics have been killed.
In the face of all this madness, the U.N. Security Council did what it does best. Earlier this month it passed a resolution calling for an end to such heinous war crimes. The Russians even signed off on it.
Right. We're all civilized aren't we? Well, maybe not. The Guardian points out this particular brand of barbarity in Syria and Yemen continues and in both places combatants are either helped directly, or logistically by various members of the council.
Yes, yes, it is all horrifying and by the way, here is another $20 million in arms. Just use them responsibly for God's sake.
No wonder everyone over there is trying to get somewhere else as fast as possible. Hey, when your odds of getting blown up during a visit to the local ER for a broken limb are better than 50-50 it is definitely time to hit the road.
No one can stop this monstrous behavior. Obama certainly hasn't been able to. Sanders, or Clinton won't either and, the brutal truth is, if he's elected, Trump won't give a shit. When it comes to the Russians, Putin probably thinks bombing hospitals is a great idea--hell, he might have come up with the idea in the first place.
There is no end in sight to the maelstrom of violence swirling in the middle east. Tragically there might not ever be. At least not as long as the industrialized powers keep trying to pull the strings on puppets they cannot control, or even understand.
That's a bet you can be sure of..
5-31-16
The United States needs to learn that our culture and lifestyle does not work in many areas of the world. The Middle East blew a great opportunity a few years ago with the promise of the Arab Spring, but chaos followed chaos. Arming that area of the world is like handing a firecracker to a 10 year old firebug -- disaster awaits. People there do not think like we do, do not handle their problems like we do. I think we should, as much as reality will allow, simply leave them alone to do their own thing. I have a strong suspicion that much of the mischief would disappear if those responsible knew that there would be no American response -- or money - forthcoming. Isolationist thinking? Possibly, but what we are currently doing isn't working.
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