The Associate Press reported yesterday that the Pentagon knew a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Kunduz, Afghanistan was, indeed, a hospital, and that they had ordered the site be placed under surveillance prior to the hospital's destruction. Special Operations analysts apparently suspected that the site was being used by a Pakistani ISI agent to coordinate Taliban attacks against Afghan and US forces.
Whether the commanders who ordered the strike had this information in hand when the order to attack the site is unclear. The Pentagon has shifted its position, as well as its narrative of events, several times. The report cites anonymous analysts claiming the strike was "justified" due to their assumption the Pakistani agent was killed. No evidence suggests any Pakistani nationals were present in the office, and MSF flatly denies this assertion.
This means that a civilian facility was flagged, prior to being destroyed, as a potential hostile target. The Pentagon can also no longer claim they didn't know the MSF facility was a hospital, which means a case can now be made this act was, in fact, a war crime.
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