“Not a single record has been provided that includes the detection of wrongdoing or disciplinary action,” the paper reported.
Washington:
As the New York Times reported Saturday, recently obtained Pentagon documents show that US air battles in the Middle East have been characterized by “deeply flawed intelligence” and have resulted in thousands of civilian casualties, including Many children are also involved.
It said a group of confidential documents covering more than 1,300 reports of civilian casualties undercut the government’s portrayal of a war fought with precision bombs.
It added that promises of transparency and accountability have been regularly eroded.
“Not a single record has been provided that includes the discovery of wrongdoing or disciplinary action,” the paper said in what was the first of a two-part series.
While many of the cases mentioned by the Times have been previously reported, it said its investigation showed that the number of civilian deaths had dropped “significantly” from at least several hundred.
monitoring fault
One of the three cases cited was a July 19, 2016, bombing by US special forces in three Islamic State group staged areas in northern Syria. Initial reports of 85 fighters killed. Instead, 120 farmers and other villagers were among those killed.
Another example was the November 2015 attack in Ramadi, Iraq, when a man was seen dragging “an unidentified heavy object” into an Islamic State position. The “object,” one review found, was a child who died in the strike.
The report said poor or insufficient surveillance footage often contributed to fatal targeting failures.
Recently, the United States had to withdraw its claim that a vehicle destroyed by a drone on a road to Kabul in August contained bombs. It turned out that the victims of the strike were 10 members of a family including children.
The report said many civilian survivors of the US attacks were disabled, requiring expensive treatment, but the number of bereavement payments was less than a dozen.
When asked for comment, US Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban told the Times that “even with the best technology in the world mistakes happen, whether based on incomplete information or misinterpretation of available information. And we learn.” Let’s try from those mistakes.
“We work diligently to avoid harm like this. We examine every credible example. And we regret every loss of innocent life.”
invisible to the air
US air campaigns in the Middle East grew rapidly in the final years of former President Barack Obama’s administration, as public support for seemingly endless ground wars waned.
Obama said the new approach, often using remotely controlled unmanned aircraft, represented “the most accurate aerial campaign in history” capable of keeping civilian casualties to a minimum.
The Pentagon said the new technology has made it possible to destroy a portion of a house full of enemy fighters while the rest of the structure remains standing.
But over a five-year period, the US military conducted more than 50,000 airstrikes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, the report said, far below the advertised accuracy.
Compiling its report, the Times said its reporters “visited more than 100 casualty sites and interviewed surviving residents and scores of current and former US officials.”
The paper obtained Pentagon documents through freedom of information requests starting in March 2017 and lawsuits filed against the Defense Department and Central Command. A new suit seeks records from Afghanistan.
Before launching airstrikes, the military must navigate detailed protocols to anticipate and reduce civilian deaths.
But there are many ways that intelligence can mislead, fall short, or sometimes lead to catastrophic errors.
For example, the Times said, video shot from the air does not show people in buildings, under foliage or under tarpaulin or aluminum covers.
And available data can be misinterpreted, because when visiting a fresh bombing site, people are considered terrorists, not rescuers.
At times, the Times said, “the men on motorcycles, ‘in formation’, were just men on motorcycles, displaying the ‘signature’ of an imminent attack.”
Central Command spokesman Captain Urban said air battle planners do their best in extremely difficult situations.
But he noted that “in many combat situations, where targets are credible threat currents and do not have the luxury of time, the fog of war can make decisions that tragically result in civilian losses.” are.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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