Readers React: Afghanistan hospital assault and the ‘fog of war’

To the editor: In criticizing the Pentagon’s response to a U.S. assault on a hospital in Afghanistan, The Times displays its armchair naivete by seeking to find order and predictability in the conduct of war. (“A slap on the wrist for deadly U.S. attack on hospital that killed 42 civilians,” editorial, May 2)

There is a reason why the historic guru of armed conflict Carl von Clausewitz is often quoted about the “fog of war” when commanders attempt to understand what is happening on the battlefield.

Certainly every effort should be made to avoid mistakes like the hospital being erroneously targeted, but to treat the involved military personnel like they had just embarked on an urban crime spree is ludicrous. Making a mistake is not the same as intentionally committing a crime.

If appropriate administrative penalties fail to satisfy some understandable but misplaced desire for retribution, so be it. It is one reason why we should be slow to go to war in the first place.

Mike Post, Winnetka

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