“Our thoughts and prayers are not enough,” President Barack Obama declares on Friday. He is tired of the empty ritual of being consoler-in-chief after one mass shooting after another. It is not enough to express sympathies and bemoan as “tragic accidents” what are, in fact, the consistent outcome of intentional policy. That was yesterday.
Today, a Doctors Without Borders hospital is blown up in Afghanistan, with no one really suggesting any explanation besides U.S. airstrikes. Which are an entirely plausible explanation, as American bombs and missiles murdering people for no other reason than their being in the way is not unusual. It is, indeed, the consistent outcome of intentional policy.
The comment of the U.S. Embassy, which reports to President Barack Obama? “Doctors Without Borders performs terrific work throughout the world, including Afghanistan, and our thoughts and prayers are with their team at this difficult moment.”
The comment of U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, who reports to President Barack Obama? “While we are still trying to determine exactly what happened, I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to everyone affected.”
It would almost be funny if it weren’t sickening and plain evil.
