In case you were wondering why the hospital at Fallujah is a"legitimate military target", this is how the US military justifies it:

The US military said insurgents had been in control of Fallujah General Hospital – located on the west bank of the Euphrates – and were “forcing the doctors there to release propaganda and false information”(like this!...tex).

It underlined in a statement that when hospitals “are used for military purposes they lose … protected status”.

So, you see, the doctors of Fallujah hospital are now liberated and no longer have to release"propaganda and false information" like civilian casualty numbers. Undoubtedly, the Liberated Doctors of Fallujah will now release statements of gratitude and we'll hear harrowing tales of their captivity while in the clutches of the Resistance.

On this topic, see Rahul Mahajan and Under the Same Sun for commentary and photos.

UPDATE:The US forces have taken possession of the hospital, leaving the incursion into the hospital to be carried out by Iraqi soldiers. The hospital, the largest in the city, is located on the western side of the banks of the Euphrates rivers, which separates it from the centre, leaving just small clinics to deal with any local wounded or dead if full-scale fighting erupts. According to Salih al-Isawi, the hospital director, the building had been surrounded and "they are telling us over loud speakers that if we leave the building we will be shot at", reporting that an ambulance that tried to exit the facility was fired upon. link via Raed Jarrar

John Arthur Shaffer - 11/8/2004

The war is illegitimate under international law. So was the conduct at Abu Gharib. What difference does it make now whether this is or isn't against Geneva? It doesn't matter what we think here, the Arab world will be inflamed by this and Bin Laden's recruitment rolls will surge further.

tex mac - 11/8/2004

According to the US military Fallujah is packed with "terrorists," too. One man's "gunman" is another man's security guard.

Midfielder Ahmed Manajid, told Wahl angrily, "How will [Bush] meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women? He has committed so many crimes."

Manajid understands Sadir's pain because he is from another Iraqi city that has been in a state of siege, Fallujah.

Manajid told Wahl that his cousin Omar Jabbar al-Aziz, who was a resistance fighter, was killed by the US, as were several of his friends. Manajid even said that if he were not playing soccer he would "for sure" be fighting as part of the resistance.

"I want to defend my home. If a stranger invades America and the people resist, does that mean they are terrorists? Everyone [in Fallujah] has been labeled a terrorist. These are all lies. Fallujah people are some of the best people in Iraq." ....Ahmed Manajid, Terrorist Iraqi Olympic Soccer Team Midfielder

Sorry, the US has no credibility to determine what is a "military" target left, any more than they are believed when they screech about "terrorists."

Aeon J. Skoble - 11/8/2004

According to the news story you link to, there were enemy gunmen occupying the hospital. This does indeed result in the hospital's loss of off-limits status. Targets are per se illegimate -- meaning that a hospital, e.g., is off-limits _inasmuch as it is a hospital_. But if it's being used to quarter troops or as a base of operations, it's no longer off limits. This is nothing new, this has been international law for decades.