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The Pentagon on Thursday introduced a plan to reduce civilian casualties resulting from airstrikes and other sensitive military operations, as top U.S. defense officials face mounting pressure to break a pattern of deadly mistakes.
The plan envisions embedding risk-mitigation specialists in military operations centers throughout the world, establishing a “center of excellence” to promote best practices, and instituting oversight from the highest levels of the Defense Department. It also aims to improve data collection and analysis to better track and address the problem.
“It’s not that we haven’t taken civilian harm mitigation into account in the past,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary. “It’s just trying to apply a consistent approach across the department so that this becomes a matter of how we do business.” Ryder called the effort “a direct reflection of U.S. values as well as a strategic and moral imperative.”
The Pentagon has taken fire for attacks that left innocent bystanders or unintended targets dead or wounded, incidents, critics argue, that could have been avoided. Such events include the Aug. 27, 2021, drone strike that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, in Kabul and accusations that the Pentagon tried to cover up civilian deaths during a strike on Islamic State adherents in Syria — claims the Pentagon rejected.
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The plan released Thursday does not address indiual incidents. But according to a senior defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon, past episodes did inform the changes it outlines.
Special attention will be given to addressing cognitive bias — or erroneously interpreting eence in a way that confirms one’s suspicions — and reducing the likelihood of target misidentification, the official said. The Pentagon also wants to ensure that, as part of its standard processes, attack plans posing undue risks to civilians are thoroughly gut-checked before they are unleashed.
The risk-mitigation plans will apply not only when firing a missile or dropping bombs, but also when conducting cyber strikes and other operations conducted outside of “the lethal space,” the official said.
The aim is to “help commanders and operators better understand the civilian environment before operations begin,” the official added.
The Pentagon expects to activate its center of excellence within the coming fiscal year, and begin implementing risk mitigation as part of regular military training using existing resources. To reach full capacity will involve additional congressional appropriations, the official said.
The Pentagon envisions the center of excellence will require a staff of about 30, and that the full program will require about 150 positions across the military. The official estimated that the budget required to execute the plans would be in the tens of millions of dollars — a small percentage of annual defense spending.
