Why it’s Critical to View the Photos Inside the MSF Hospital in Kunduz

I don’t take any satisfaction in posting this image inside the MSF, or Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in the aftermath of its bombing by the U.S. military.

The reason it’s crucial, however, is for the opportunity to actually substantiate something we only know to be true. How many times have you heard someone refer to remote targeting and the guesstimating behind who and when to strike, or the collateral damage of the drone war? “We’ve bombed weddings!” “We’ve bombed hospitals!” people will utter, while the reality of of those events —  the ashen floors; the peeled and pock-marked walls; the carcasses of bed frames; that noose-like thing, whatever it was; and far worse — are either left to the mind’s eye, or Hollywood’s.

Well, in this rare instance, it’s the real thing.

Article and slideshow, “Inside the MSF Hospital in Kunduz,” at Foreign Policy. Photos by Andrew Quilty.