Democratic lawmakers praised Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for releasing a new strategy intended to limit civilian casualties resulting from the military’s drone program.
A group of 50 Democrats (11 senators and 39 representatives) encouraged President Joe Biden to “review and overhaul” the military’s counterterrorism strategy last week. On Thursday, Austin announced that the Department of Defense would immediately establish a civilian protection center, among other changes.
“We’re glad the Biden administration recognizes that change is desperately needed in the way the U.S. military approaches the use of force when there is risk of harm to civilians,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Chris Murphy and Rep. Ro Khanna, leaders in organizing the letter, said in a statement Friday.
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“Civilian casualties as a result of U.S. combat operations are both a moral stain and a national security liability, and more must be done to prevent them. In order for the reform process Secretary Austin laid out to be effective, the administration must prioritize protection of civilians and adherence to domestic and international law, all while relying on non-lethal tools to address conflict and fragility, and only using force as a last resort,” they added. “We look forward to continue working with the administration as they revise U.S. counterterrorism policy.”
In addition to the new office, the Department of Defense will unveil a specific plan on preventing civilian harm within 90 days.
“I know personally how hard we work to avoid civilian harm and to abide by the law of armed conflict, also said that we need to do better and we will. This is a priority for me, and we will ensure that we are transparent as we continue this important work,” Austin told reporters Friday.
The changes come after multiple reports of civilian casualties thrust the military’s drone program into question as it relates to the safety measures in place for preventing such incidents from occurring.
In the final days of the military’s time in Afghanistan in August, the United States launched a drone strike to prevent what they believed to be an imminent attack on U.S. troops who were evacuating people who were believed to be at risk under the new Taliban regime. The Defense Department later acknowledged that the target had no terrorist ties. He and nine other civilians died in the strike, many of whom were his family members.
There were no illegalities with the strike, according to an investigation that Austin signed off on, and there were no punishments resulting from it either.
The secretary also ordered an investigation into a March 18, 2019, strike that killed 80 people last November. Of those who died, U.S. Central Command could only confirm that among the dead were 16 fighters and four civilians. U.S. Army Forces Commander Gen. Michael Garrett has to submit the findings of his investigation roughly by the end of February.
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Talon Anvil, a top-secret American strike cell that launched tens of thousands of bombs and missiles against the Islamic State in Syria, even though they repeatedly ignored procedures dedicated to preventing civilian casualties, carried out that strike and many others, according to the New York Times.
