Pentagon documents reveal ‘deeply flawed’ US air war: report
Over 1,300 reports of civilian casualties undercut govt’s precision claims
US Central Command spokesman Capt Bill Urban says ‘even with the best technology in the world, mistakes do happen’, but adds the military tries to learn from them. – AFP pic, December 19, 2021
WASHINGTON – Newly obtained Pentagon documents show that the US air wars in the Middle East have been marked by “deeply flawed intelligence” and resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, including many children, the New York Times reported yesterday.
It said a trove of confidential documents covering more than 1,300 reports of civilian casualties undercuts the government’s portrayal of a war fought with precision bombs.
Pledges of transparency and accountability, it said, had regularly fallen short.
“Not a single record provided includes a finding of wrongdoing or disciplinary action,” the paper reported in what it said was the first of a two-part series.
While several of the cases mentioned by the Times have been previously reported, it said its investigation showed that the number of civilian deaths had been “drastically undercounted”, by at least several hundred.
Surveillance flaws
Among three cases cited was a July 19, 2016 bombing by US special forces of what were believed to be three Islamic State group staging areas in northern Syria. Initial reports were of 85 fighters killed. Instead, the dead were 120 farmers and other villagers.
Another example was a November 2015 attack in Ramadi, Iraq after a man was seen dragging “an unknown heavy object” into an Islamic State position. The “object”, a review found, was a child, who died in the strike.
Poor or inadequate surveillance footage often contributed to deadly targeting failures, the report said.
More recently, the United States had to retract its claim that a vehicle destroyed by a drone on a Kabul street in August had contained bombs. Victims of the strike, it turned out, were 10 members of a family, including children.
Many civilian survivors of US attacks, the report says, were left with disabilities requiring expensive treatment, but condolence payments numbered fewer than a dozen.
Asked for comment, Capt Bill Urban, spokesman for the US Central Command, told the Times that “even with the best technology in the world, mistakes do happen, whether based on incomplete information or misinterpretation of the information available. And we try to learn from those mistakes.
“We work diligently to avoid such harm. We investigate each credible instance. And we regret each loss of innocent life.”
Unseen from the air
The US air campaign in the Middle East grew rapidly in the final years of former president Barack Obama’s administration, as public support waned for the seemingly endless ground wars.
Obama said the new approach, often using unmanned aircraft controlled from far away, represented “the most precise air campaign in history,” able to keep civilian deaths to a minimum.
The new technology made it possible to destroy a part of a house filled with enemy fighters while leaving the rest of the structure standing, the Pentagon said.
But over a five-year period, US forces executed more than 50,000 airstrikes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, the report said, with much less than the advertised precision.
In compiling its report, the Times said its reporters had “visited more than 100 casualty sites and interviewed scores of surviving residents and current and former American officials.”
The paper obtained the Pentagon documents through Freedom of Information requests beginning in March 2017 and lawsuits filed against the Defence Department and the Central Command. A new suit seeks records from Afghanistan.
Before launching air strikes, the military must navigate elaborate protocols to estimate and minimize civilian deaths.
But there are several ways available intelligence can mislead, fall short, or at times lead to disastrous errors.
For example, the Times said, video shot from the air does not show people in buildings, under foliage or under tarpaulins or aluminium covers.
And available data can be misinterpreted, as when people running to a fresh bombing site are assumed to be militants, not would-be rescuers.
Sometimes, the Times said, “Men on motorcycles moving ‘in formation,’ displaying the ‘signature’ of an imminent attack, were just men on motorcycles.”
Urban, the Central Command spokesman, said air-war planners do their best under exceedingly difficult conditions.
But he added that “in many combat situations, where targeteers face credible threat streams and do not have the luxury of time, the fog of war can lead to decisions that tragically result in civilian harm.” – AFP, December 19, 2021
WASHINGTON – Newly obtained Pentagon documents show that the US air wars in the Middle East have been marked by “deeply flawed intelligence” and resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, including many children, the New York Times reported yesterday.
It said a trove of confidential documents covering more than 1,300 reports of civilian casualties undercuts the government’s portrayal of a war fought with precision bombs.
Pledges of transparency and accountability, it said, had regularly fallen short.
“Not a single record provided includes a finding of wrongdoing or disciplinary action,” the paper reported in what it said was the first of a two-part series.
While several of the cases mentioned by the Times have been previously reported, it said its investigation showed that the number of civilian deaths had been “drastically undercounted”, by at least several hundred.
Surveillance flaws
Among three cases cited was a July 19, 2016 bombing by US special forces of what were believed to be three Islamic State group staging areas in northern Syria. Initial reports were of 85 fighters killed. Instead, the dead were 120 farmers and other villagers.
Another example was a November 2015 attack in Ramadi, Iraq after a man was seen dragging “an unknown heavy object” into an Islamic State position. The “object”, a review found, was a child, who died in the strike.
Poor or inadequate surveillance footage often contributed to deadly targeting failures, the report said.
More recently, the United States had to retract its claim that a vehicle destroyed by a drone on a Kabul street in August had contained bombs. Victims of the strike, it turned out, were 10 members of a family, including children.
Many civilian survivors of US attacks, the report says, were left with disabilities requiring expensive treatment, but condolence payments numbered fewer than a dozen.
Asked for comment, Capt Bill Urban, spokesman for the US Central Command, told the Times that “even with the best technology in the world, mistakes do happen, whether based on incomplete information or misinterpretation of the information available. And we try to learn from those mistakes.
“We work diligently to avoid such harm. We investigate each credible instance. And we regret each loss of innocent life.”
Unseen from the air
The US air campaign in the Middle East grew rapidly in the final years of former president Barack Obama’s administration, as public support waned for the seemingly endless ground wars.
Obama said the new approach, often using unmanned aircraft controlled from far away, represented “the most precise air campaign in history,” able to keep civilian deaths to a minimum.
The new technology made it possible to destroy a part of a house filled with enemy fighters while leaving the rest of the structure standing, the Pentagon said.
But over a five-year period, US forces executed more than 50,000 airstrikes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, the report said, with much less than the advertised precision.
In compiling its report, the Times said its reporters had “visited more than 100 casualty sites and interviewed scores of surviving residents and current and former American officials.”
The paper obtained the Pentagon documents through Freedom of Information requests beginning in March 2017 and lawsuits filed against the Defence Department and the Central Command. A new suit seeks records from Afghanistan.
Before launching air strikes, the military must navigate elaborate protocols to estimate and minimize civilian deaths.
But there are several ways available intelligence can mislead, fall short, or at times lead to disastrous errors.
For example, the Times said, video shot from the air does not show people in buildings, under foliage or under tarpaulins or aluminium covers.
And available data can be misinterpreted, as when people running to a fresh bombing site are assumed to be militants, not would-be rescuers.
Sometimes, the Times said, “Men on motorcycles moving ‘in formation,’ displaying the ‘signature’ of an imminent attack, were just men on motorcycles.”
Urban, the Central Command spokesman, said air-war planners do their best under exceedingly difficult conditions.
But he added that “in many combat situations, where targeteers face credible threat streams and do not have the luxury of time, the fog of war can lead to decisions that tragically result in civilian harm.” – AFP, December 19, 2021
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kt comments:
Let me quote a military statement from the Vietnam War, as reported by AP journalist Peter Arnett (NZ):
On 7 February 1968, Peter Arnett wrote about the Battle of BαΊΏn Tre: "'It became necessary to destroy the town to save it,' a United States major said today. He was talking about the decision by allied commanders to bomb and shell the town regardless of civilian casualties, to rout the Vietcong."
The number of civilian deaths had been “drastically undercounted” by at least several hundred , over 10 years from 2001 - 2021, would make it one of the cautious military campaigns in the history of warfare, mindful of minimising civilian casualties.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, Russia gets a free pass for it brutal air campaign in Syria, directly, or supporting it barbaric ally Assad Regime, with its indiscriminate use of Barrel Bombs against civilian Areas.
A despicable Yankee asslicker trying to compare atrocities, especially human casualty, between US & Russia.
DeleteThere shouldn't even be a comparison in such lowest fart of a Pyrrhic victory thinking! It shows what kind of dickhead u r.
Second, if comparison is truly in yr f*cking mind, then how many wars have yr uncle Sam raised/initiated, all-over the world, as compared to any other countries ever exist on earth!
Go to hell cbmf!
This from the Blog owner who insists NO innocent civilians are being imprisoned in Xinjiang, in spite of all the evidence.
ReplyDelete"innocent civilians are being imprisoned in Xinjiang, in spite of all the evidence"
DeleteMfer, shows yr evidences - old & new, debunked & newly fabricated!
Just liken to the continuous saga of the alleged Peng Shuai sexual assault & disappearance claims - propagated by the demoNcratic western media, nothing change even when all the proofs r been transparently shown!
Mfer, u r just looking for a Cadmean victory to syiok yr China bashing ego.
Evidence? The kind of dubious propaganda only ignoramus buy! The whole episode propaganda show from script writer, actors, actresses, even the illogical storyline have been rebutted through and through! You are naive lah.
Delete