Horrible conditions at US-funded military hospital in Afghanistan

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**LoneLictor**

An explosive Congressional investigation revealed horrific new details this week about a U.S. funded military hospital in Afghanistan that kept patients in "Auschwitz-like" conditions.
The investigation also revealed that Lt. General William B. Caldwell, then commander of the $11.2 billion dollar a year Afghan training program, tried to block the probe and ordered a cover-up.
There are currently two ongoing investigations looking into the Dawood Military Hospital abuses: one centered around the Military Whistleblower Protection Act, the other concerned with Caldwell’s politically-motivated decision to delay investigations into the hospital until after the 2010 elections.
What follows is a very disturbing look inside the Dawood National Military Hospital. It was compiled with sworn eye-witness testimony from the three U.S. Army colonels who blew the whistle on the scandal, as well as never-before published photos obtained by BuzzFeed.
The photos and corresponding descriptions were collected by U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan.
The images are extremely graphic.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rebeccaelliott/horror-hospital-the-most-shocking-photos-and-test?mrefid=twitter

GORY PICTURES IN LINK

DONT READ IF YOU'RE A SUPER PATRIOTIC DUDE OR YOU DONT LIKE GORE

**djphranq**

Dang.

I think you need a big warning in the thread title or something. Then again you did just post the link not the actual pics.

But... dang.

**LoneLictor**

djphranq wrote:Dang.

I think you need a big warning in the thread title or something. Then again you did just post the link not the actual pics.

But... dang.

Yeah. It's really fethed up. At least the gov isn't actively censoring this gak at the moment. That's always a good sign.

**broodstar**

This is really fethed up, glad it's being caught now.

**Bromsy**

That is thoroughly uncool.

http://oversight.house.gov/hearing/dawood-national-military-hospital-afghanistan-what-happened-and-what-went-wrong/

**Palindrome**

I would assume that US medical personnel were involved with this, at least in an oversight capacity. All I can say is that this reflects extremely poorly on the US military medical services. The faciltity itself may have been run by Afghan staff but they clearly were not trained to anything like an acceptable standard and there was no effective oversight.

As a medical professional myself I find this appaling.

**Bromsy**

Wow, listening to the link that I posted... pretty F'd up when you start getting into the specifics.

**Ultrafool**

Wow.....I guess I won't sleep tonight, pretty messed up stuff you got there...

**azazel the cat**

As bad as that is... and that is very, very bad... I'm still not sure it warrants comparison to Auschwitz.

**Wolfstan**

What a turnaround, especially when you read how revolted US troops were when they stumbled across the concentration camps in WWII

**youbedead**

azazel the cat wrote:As bad as that is... and that is very, very bad... I'm still not sure it warrants comparison to Auschwitz.

I think the comparison is apt if a bit hyperbolic, I'm wondering how intential these conditions are though

**Melissia**

This is... disgusting. In many, many ways.

I hope those in charge are punished severely, to say the least... and I still can't find out WHY they were kept in these conditions? Was it really just a douchebag general trying to play politics?

I find it weird, but I'm honestly curious what Jihadin's response is.

**Henners91**

Were they being systematically exterminated on an industrial-scale to a timetable?

**Palindrome**

youbedead wrote: I'm wondering how intential these conditions are though

They aren't. The standard of medical care in Afghanistan is poor, medical training is rudimentary and archaic (from what I have been told). In this case it looks as though Afghan 'doctors' were simply not given adequate training and left to run the place by themselves. Its obvious that the medical staff in this hospital simply didn't know what they were doing.

**Bromsy**

Wolfstan wrote:What a turnaround, especially when you read how revolted US troops were when they stumbled across the concentration camps in WWII

So it's a turnaround because they were revolted by this too? 360 degrees is a hell of a turn around, I will grant you that.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Palindrome wrote:
youbedead wrote: I'm wondering how intential these conditions are though

They aren't. The standard of medical care in Afghanistan is poor, medical training is rudimentary and archaic (from what I have been told). In this case it looks as though Afghan 'doctors' were simply not given adequate training and left to run the place by themselves. Its obvious that the medical staff in this hospital simply didn't know what they were doing.

Well, that and the medical supplies were pillaged wholesale if they were even delivered to the place at all. But yeah, if you watch the link I dug up it's seemingly a case of gross corruption on the Afghan side coupled with an attitude amongst our general officers/politicos to only present positive news and thus sweep this sort of thing under the rug.

**KingCracker**

Holy gak that is unbelievable. I honestly cannont believe we were part of something like that in this age. I hope someone hangs for this.

**Amaya**

Ultrafool wrote:Wow.....I guess I won't sleep tonight, pretty messed up stuff you got there...

Those pictures are pretty mild. Be glad you can't smell those sores.

Wolfstan wrote:What a turnaround, especially when you read how revolted US troops were when they stumbled across the concentration camps in WWII

The US is directly responsible for this from the top down? ORLY?

Henners91 wrote:Were they being systematically exterminated on an industrial-scale to a timetable?

Obviously.

Bromsy wrote:
Wolfstan wrote:What a turnaround, especially when you read how revolted US troops were when they stumbled across the concentration camps in WWII

So it's a turnaround because they were revolted by this too? 360 degrees is a hell of a turn around, I will grant you that.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Palindrome wrote:
youbedead wrote: I'm wondering how intential these conditions are though

They aren't. The standard of medical care in Afghanistan is poor, medical training is rudimentary and archaic (from what I have been told). In this case it looks as though Afghan 'doctors' were simply not given adequate training and left to run the place by themselves. Its obvious that the medical staff in this hospital simply didn't know what they were doing.

Well, that and the medical supplies were pillaged wholesale if they were even delivered to the place at all. But yeah, if you watch the link I dug up it's seemingly a case of gross corruption on the Afghan side coupled with an attitude amongst our general officers/politicos to only present positive news and thus sweep this sort of thing under the rug.

As usual, it looks like this is something overblown by the media to blame America even though you can go to any third world country and find equal or worse medical conditions.

But Americans are of course Nazis. Obviously.

**Henners91**

Amaya wrote:But Americans are of course Nazis. Obviously.

Yes.

Americans went from this...

Spoiler:

To this....

Spoiler:

Which looks a lot like this...

Spoiler:

That's my theory, anyway, nations express subtle ideological changes through headgear...

**Palindrome**

Amaya wrote:
As usual, it looks like this is something overblown by the media to blame America even though you can go to any third world country and find equal or worse medical conditions.

I doubt that you will find much that is as bad, especially not when it is actually funded by the US.

**Albatross**

Really? The US funds a lot of projects around the world. It's American money, not American medical care. People are acting like the place was exclusively staffed by American doctors who left patients to rot, presumably because it suits their own ideological outlook to believe such nonsense.

Imperialism is difficult. You can't always make the locals adhere to your own values. You can build hospitals/police stations etc., train people, instruct them... Ultimately, they'll revert to cultural type in the short-to-medium term. That's one of the hazards of 'light-touch' Empire. Thankfully the Americans seem to be grasping this finally. Hopefully now they'll get off OUR back about that sort of thing. I'm reminded of an American commentator on British Africa who remarked upon how bad conditions were there - I wonder what he'd make of this...

**Squigsquasher**

This just shouldn't be allowed. Personally, if I was in charge of the UN or some other big powerful organization I'd have all US forces pulled from the country.

But let's face it, contrary to what the US government would have us believe, the US army never has been the most humanistic and morally exemplary force in the world.

**Palindrome**

Albatross wrote: It's American money, not American medical care.

In this case though there was an US mentoring team in place and there was pressure from within the US chain of command to prevent/delay an investigation. This goes deeper than misappropriated funds or politically driven reporting.

**CT GAMER**

Squigsquasher wrote:

But let's face it, contrary to what the US government would have us believe, the US army never has been the most humanistic and morally exemplary force in the world.

ALL governments think they inhabit the moral high ground. It's how they justify the many gakky things they do to each other and sometimes even their own people.

Could you cite an example of a country that officially denounces it's own military forces as inhumane and lacking morals?

I appreciate the love and fervor of "Amerika" bashing that some around here enjoy (some of it clearly warrented), but lets not pretend our own gak doesnt stink...

**Albatross**

Unlike all those other 'nice' armies? They're not tickling forces, you know...

**Squigsquasher**

Japan has officially apologized for the actions of the IJA during the Second World War.

Likewise Britain has apologized for the various atrocities committed by our military during the days of the British Empire.

But that's because we and Japan both lost. if we still had our empire we wouldn't be so apologetic. Likewise, if Japan had won the Second World War then they might be complaining about the Tokyo Fire Raids or the behaviour of American forces in Okinawa (and rightfully so).

Also, don't deny me my right to be angry and grumpy about everything. It's all I have.

**Albatross**

Palindrome wrote:
Albatross wrote: It's American money, not American medical care.

In this case though there was an US mentoring team in place and there was pressure from within the US chain of command to prevent/delay an investigation. This goes deeper than misappropriated funds or politically driven reporting.

Yes, but my point is, one can only do so much to change the way certain cultures think and operate over the short-term. Look at the amount of money that's been plowed into training, equipping and supervising the Afghan National Army and Police. As far as I can tell, when Matty was out there they were a bag of gak - I have another mate who's just come back saying the same. It will take decades to change the Afghan mindset. My aforementioned pal witnessed some of them gaking into their drinking water supply. That's what we're up against.

tl;dr - It's too easy to blame the Americans, and it's not entirely fair.

**Melissia**

Squigsquasher wrote:Japan has officially apologized for the actions of the IJA during the Second World War.

Japan has a seventy year history of denying the war crimes they've committed, including trying to write them out of their history books.

**Squigsquasher**

They offered huge amounts of compensation to the surviving victims of said war crimes. And set up an organization to prevent the repetition of them.

Also, I haven't seen any western history books referencing the war crimes committed by allied forces. Of which there is a whole page on Wikipedia.

**CT GAMER**

Squigsquasher wrote:They offered huge amounts of compensation to the surviving victims of said war crimes.

We offer 7-eleven franchise opportunities to the relatives of those we are killing apparently.

Just saying...

**Melissia**

Squigsquasher wrote:They offered huge amounts of compensation to the surviving victims of said war crimes. And set up an organization to prevent the repetition of them.

They did not give money to individuals, but to governments. And have refused to give money to individuals, and the government continues to deny its war crimes involving rape, often pedophilic rape, of foreign women conscripted in to sex slavery. They actively try to deny that the crimes ever happened, and attempt to create martyrs out of those who were convicted of war crimes.

Squigsquasher wrote:Also, I haven't seen any western history books referencing the war crimes committed by allied forces. Of which there is a whole page on Wikipedia.

The one I read in high school mentioned them. Same with my college textbooks.