Civilian Casualties (CIVCAS)

US officials’ emphasis on minimization of civilian casualties in an operation against such a high value target deserves special attention.

Last month’s New York Times report that the American air wars in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan have been plagued by flawed intelligence, poor targeting, and thousands of civilian…

Recent months have seen a flood of revelations concerning civilian harm resulting from U.S. military operations. The last U.S. airstrike of the war in Afghanistan, which killed…

The Pentagon has three months to investigate the disturbing New York Times report that the military conducted and covered up airstrikes in Baghuz, Syria that killed up to 64 civilians.…

How framing civilian harm in U.S. military operations -- as a “tragic mistake” -- hides the systemic failure that requires institutional reform.

Our co-editor-in-chief identifies and annotates the 20 most significant elements of Centcom's statement.

A list of specific questions for members of Congress, reporters, and investigators to ask about the strike. 

"There are certainly unique circumstances to the Kabul strike, but if we miss the bigger lessons, we only invite further tragedy. "

A deep analysis of the broader system in which the August 29 Kabul drone strike is situated, by top expert on civilian casualties and lead author of several Department of Defense…

"It is simply not credible that the entire investigative report must be withheld in order to protect (as one imagines the claim) sources and methods of intelligence-gathering."

Rather than rebrand painfully flawed approaches, the US must heed the calls and ideas of civil society, academics, and practitioners.

We drafted dozens of specific questions for Congress, reporters, and investigators to ask.