Bombing your own base — not exactly a good war tactic. But apparently that's what the U.S. did back in September 2012 — check out this YouTube video, which recently came to light.
"Whoa! F*** me!"
"Roger, where'd it hit?"
"Holy s***, dude. God d***."
That was a 500-pound bomb intended for a group of Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan. Luckily, there were no casualties. CNN calls the mistake "rare" and spoke to a retired Air Force colonel.
"This was a major mistake. ... The way targeting works is, you have to get the coordinates right."
"An investigation determined the air crew had the wrong coordinates."
"Unfortunately in wars, this does happen."
A "major mistake" that, of course, means bad press for the U.S. Air Force. Headlines are calling the footage "shocking" and "horrifying." (Via Metro, AllVoices)
At the very least, an incredibly close call now being treated with scoffing and sarcasm. (Via Slate)
Ultimately, the incident was ruled a pure accident, and no one was charged over it.
