Army Lt. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, who was nominated to lead U.S. Central Command, promised to launch an investigation into a years-old missile strike that targeted a location reportedly on the “no-strike” list.
Kurilla, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, made the promise during a hearing on the nomination in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday morning.
The United States, back in March 2017, bombed the Tabqa Dam, which was under Islamic State control at the time. The dam had been on the U.S. military’s “no-strike list,” according to the New York Times, which reported it received the designation because the damage could’ve caused a flood resulting in tens of thousands of deaths.
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A classified U.S. special operations unit, Task Force 9, which was in charge of ground operations in Syria, was responsible for the bombing, as the force reportedly usurped regular protocols for civilian casualty mitigation.
At another point during the confirmation hearing, Kurilla agreed with Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s assessment that civilian deaths hurt the U.S.’s “credibility abroad and fuel the very insurgencies we’re fighting against.”
Last month, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the Department of Defense would immediately establish a civilian protection center, among other changes to follow in the coming months. The announcement came in the weeks and months after the military faced allegations of not doing enough to prevent civilian casualties.
In November, the secretary also ordered an investigation last November into a March 18, 2019, strike that killed 80 people. U.S. Army Forces Commander Gen. Michael Garrett has to submit the findings of his investigation roughly by the end of the month.
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Months earlier in August, the U.S. military mistakenly targeted an aid worker in Afghanistan whom they thought posed an imminent threat to U.S. troops working at the Kabul airport to evacuate third-country nationals and Afghan allies at risk under the new Taliban regime.
If confirmed by the Senate, Kurilla would replace Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who has been in the role since March 2019 and whose tenure will end on April 1.
