There goes that pesky passive voice again. It truly is one of the world’s most deadly serial killers.
“I’ve ordered a thorough investigation into this tragic incident and the investigation is ongoing,” U.S. Army Gen. John Campbell said. “The Afghans ordered the same. If errors were committed we’ll acknowledge them. We’ll hold those responsible accountable and we will take steps to ensure mistakes are not repeated.”
This guy really earned his pay. “If errors were committed”? I mean,“if”? What in the unholy hell is that? You blew the shit out of a fully staffed—and fully functioning—hospital. There are only two alternatives. Either you deliberately lit up the hospital, in which case somebody—or a whole lot of somebodies—is guilty of a war crime, or a “mistake” clearly was made. The hospital didn’t blow itself up. The conditional is always the accomplice—the Bianchi to the passive voice’s Buono.