Thread

Iran school bombing: grounds to believe US was behind atrocity, UN finds

354 points · 307 comments · hebelehubele

Wildgoose · 1789657415 · focus · HN ↗
Seeing as it was a "double tap" it was clearly a deliberate target. Bomb the school, wait until officers from the nearby base with kids at the school arrive to try and rescue their daughters and hit it again. Clearly a war crime, possibly using Israeli targeting information, which clouds which State is ultimately responsible.
1. jvanderbot · 1789657716 · focus · HN ↗
  Yes, the definition of war crime is not "intentionally targeted building" it is "intentionally targeted building that it knew was non-military and full of civilians". If you plausibly believed it to be a military target, then it's plausibly not a war crime.
  The question about whether US launched the missiles is not really in dispute, the intent and knowledge is in dispute. NYT did a great analysis essentially concluding it was plausibly a mistake, not an intentional or indiscriminate civilian attack.
  More here: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49739018#49741081">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49739018#49741081
  1. orwin · 1789662537 · focus · HN ↗
    The double tap to me is really what is cruel. I understand americans don't want to hear it, because they need to believe their military is moral, but a double tap to me show cruelty and willingness to target doctor, nurses, firemen and any person courageous enough to help.
    The US military and its sailors already showed me everything i wont to know about them when i saw the report on them shooting torpedoes at capsized boats.
    jvanderbot · 1789667106 · focus · HN ↗
    [dead]
    mahboi · 1789668026 · focus · HN ↗
    Is there some other purpose of a double tap besides killing first responders? Maybe to hit underground targets, or the second hit was unintentional?
    jvanderbot · 1789672388 · focus · HN ↗
    reverse question: Why does everyone assume that only one missile is justified per target? I think this line of reasoning came out of the "double tap" strikes used in Gaza where a five to 30m wait allowed a crowd to gather.
    What was the time between hits in this case?
    mahboi · 1789672911 · focus · HN ↗
    Because the first missile kills the intended targets. So the second one is implied to be for whoever comes to pick up the bodies.
    jvanderbot · 1789676490 · focus · HN ↗
    That is the colloquial definition of a double tap.
    That is not automatically the case whenever two missiles strike a target.
    The "follow up" hit requires a delay. The delay is not accidental - you want to give time for a crowd to gather.
    All targets in the area received >= 1 missile, and all somewhat close together, from the NYT analysis.
    culi · 1789680720 · focus · HN ↗
    Well that's exactly what happened. US hit the building and many died. All the surviving students and teachers rushed to a prayer hall for protection but almost exactly 40 minutes later US airplanes (not surface missiles) hit the building again.
    All of these facts are outlined in US' own internal investigation and in the UN's fact-finding mission.

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