PeacePundit has followed reports about a May 4 airstrike in the western Farah province of Afghanistan. Afghan and Red Cross estimates were that at least 140 civilians died, including women and children. The U.S. military’s own investigation concluded that about 26 civilians were killed along with 78 Taliban fighters.
The update is that after a month of investigations, the military is revising its rules of engagement. Three recent news stories, excerpted below make the following points:
- Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants US forces to rely less on airstrikes
- A DoD report concludes that air-support airplane crews need more training to reduce civilian deaths
- A US bomber crew involved in the May 4 airstrike violated attack rules, causing unnecessary deaths
Gates Sees Less Need for Afghan Airstrikes
by Anne Gearan, Associated Press, Wednesday, June 13, 2009
Thousands of new U.S. troops deploying in Afghanistan can lessen the reliance on air strikes that sometimes kill civilians and undermine support for the fight against the Taliban, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.
At a meeting of NATO defense ministers, Gates said the accidental killing of Afghan civilians is “one of our greatest strategic vulnerabilities.” Reducing those is a primary assignment for the American general he picked to turn around the stalemated war, he said.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal … will head the Afghan campaign …
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Gates fired his last commander and has said the war effort lacked focus and resources. …
Gates said he wants better intelligence, more precise targeting and ground operations to lessen dependence on air power.
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Civilian casualties have become a raw subject between the Afghan government and the nations fighting to keep the Taliban at bay. In the latest incident, NATO mortar rounds killed two civilians during a clash [on June 10] with insurgents in eastern Afghanistan, …
Report: Troop Training Needed in Afghan War
by Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press, June 18, 2009
A report on deadly airstrikes in Afghanistan calls for better training for air and ground forces to reduce civilian casualties that have undermined the counterinsurgency campaign …
The recommendation on training and … one urging a review of the use of air support are among a half-dozen findings in an unreleased report on a May 4 bombing that was aimed at Taliban militants but also killed dozens of Afghan civilians, two Defense Department officials said Wednesday. … A separate recommendation is to review aircraft used for air support that troops call in to back them up, officials said.
The report says that U.S. air and ground forces headed to Afghanistan should receive advance training in the kinds of scenarios they could face, including situations that have resulted in civilian deaths, one official said. The report suggests periodic refresher training throughout troops’ tours of duty in the war zone, meaning that forces would get training early and often to reinforce battlefield tactics.
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Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other top military officials have said that reducing civilian deaths is crucial to winning Afghan support for American and coalition operations against the insurgents and boosting the population’s support for the central government.
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Afghan officials have said that 140 civilians were killed during the air strikes in Farah province. The report being prepared for release holds to earlier U.S. estimates of a lower death toll of about 30 civilians and 60 to 65 Taliban fighters. …
The overall civilian death toll in the war has not only fed Afghan resentment toward the military mission but also become a major irritant in US dealings with Afghanistan’s fragile civilian government. …
The United Nations has said 2,118 civilians died in the Afghan war last year, 40 percent more than in 2007. The United States, NATO and Afghan forces killed 829 civilians, 39 percent of the total, the United Nations said. Of those, 552 deaths were blamed on airstrikes.
U.S. Bomber Broke Rules in Afghan War
by Ann Gearan, Associated Press, June 20, 2009
A U.S. warplane failed to follow all operational rules in a complex battle in Afghanistan last month that killed an estimated 26 civilians and 78 Taliban fighters, the U.S. military concluded in a report …
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“The inability to discern the presence of civilians and assess the potential collateral damage of those strikes is inconsistent with the US government’s objective of providing security and safety for the Afghan people,” the report prepared by U.S. Central Command said.
Three US air strikes conducted after dark near the close of the chaotic fight in the western Farah Province probably accounted for the civilian deaths, the report said. It contained only mild criticism of the B-1 bomber crew involved, however, and the nation’s top military official has already said there is no reason to punish any US personnel.
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Local Afghan officials have said as many as 140 people were killed.
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Related Previous PeacePundit Posts
- Update on May 4-5 Afghan Airstrike Incident
- Memo to Obama, Clinton, and Gates: Stop Digging!
- Child Casualties Are Not Acceptable
- Don’t Call It “Collateral Damage”
- Cheney Shot Whittington, But Did He Get the Quail?”
