On January 14, 2022, the Congressional Examine Group on Overseas Relations and Nationwide Safety convened over Zoom to debate the difficulty of accountability for—and prevention of—civilian casualties ensuing from U.S. army operations. Within the months previous to the research group session, there had been numerous disturbing media stories referring to such civilian casualties, together with a report that one elite unit might have knowingly or intentionally focused civilians throughout operations in Syria. This session examined the scope of this drawback and the authorized methods that Congress and others may pursue to handle it.
Two outdoors specialists joined the research group to debate this matter: Annie Shiel, a senior advisor on the Middle for Civilians in Battle; and Luke Hartig, who was beforehand the senior director for counterterrorism for the Nationwide Safety Council throughout the Obama administration. Senate staffer (and research group member) Rita Siemion, who was beforehand an affiliate on civilian casualty and associated points at Human Rights First, additionally supplied feedback in her private capability.
They really helpful the next background readings in reparation for the research group dialogue:
- Madison Hunke, “Making Amends: A Information to U.S. legislation and Coverage on Submit-Hurt Amends,” Middle for Civilians in Battle (Jan. 7, 2021);
- Luke Hartig, “Biden’s Drone Coverage assessment: Suggestions for a Reset,” Simply Safety (Mar. 5, 2021);
- Annie Shiel, “Reference Information: Monitoring Protections of Civilians By the NDAA,” Middle for Civilians in Battle (July 21, 2021);
- “In Search of Solutions,” The Civilian Safety Podcast (Aug. 12, 2021) (podcast recording); and
- Luke Hartig, “Reexamining the Fundamentals of the Drone Program After the Kabul Strike,” Simply Safety (Nov. 10, 2021).
Shortly previous to the research group session, Hartig joined the Lawfare Podcast to debate the media report of civilian casualties in Syria and associated coverage responses.
Hartig opened the remarks by noting that the Biden administration was anticipated to launch a brand new coverage on civilian casualties within the close to future, making this a pivotal second for the difficulty. For its half, he famous, the Biden administration had dedicated to ending the “without end struggle” in Afghanistan and lowering world counterterrorism missions, each of which had been synergistic with efforts to scale back civilian casualties. He additionally famous that the administration’s method was knowledgeable by the disastrous strike it pursued in Kabul throughout the August 2021 withdrawal from the nation, which inadvertently focused and killed numerous Afghan kids and different Afghan civilians.
Hartig then supplied an summary of how U.S. civilian casualty insurance policies have advanced. The Obama administration initially reacted to criticisms of its excessive quantity of drone strikes by creating a Presidential Coverage Steerage (PPG) that restricted their use outdoors of lively struggle zones besides the place seize was unavailable, the goal posed an imminent risk, and there was close to certainty that no civilian casualties would outcome. This coverage did lead to a lower in each the amount of drone strikes and the dimensions of civilian casualties however confronted criticism from either side and nonetheless didn’t resolve transparency points or present compensation to these affected. The Trump administration suspended and later changed the PPG, surged strikes in Yemen and elsewhere, delegated extra authority to area commanders, and fought again towards transparency measures, however stored in some civilian casualty protections. Some within the protection and intelligence communities have sought to maintain the Trump-era flexibility in utilizing such strikes, however the Biden administration suspended these tips shortly after coming into workplace pending a full assessment. Hartig expressed his view that the Biden administration’s coverage assessment was more likely to put many parts of the PPG again in place. However he famous that extra was wanted as properly, together with enhanced transparency, higher course of and coaching, and context-specific evaluation and tips. As for what Congress can do, he urged it to assist sturdy Protection Division management on these points by means of the nomination course of, develop oversight and obligatory transparency necessities, and have interaction in reform of the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Navy Power (AUMF) used to authorize most worldwide U.S. army operations.
Shiel then stepped in to offer her personal perspective. She opened by noting the significance of humanizing the civilian value of U.S. army operations and never simply letting people turn out to be statistics. She famous that latest information and media stories underscore how persistent an issue civilian casualties are in U.S. army operations and the truth that there has not been a significant or sustained change on this regard regardless of widespread recognition of the issue. She particularly famous the issue of transparency because the U.S. army chronically undercounts and under-investigates civilian casualty incidents. Current media stories on the time of the session additionally reveal that elite models whose actions are sometimes secret have been concerned in among the worst civilian casualty incidents. Individually, she additionally famous the poor system america has for offering compensation the place incidents happen, because the Protection Division has didn’t spend the cash Congress has appropriated for that function or to make any associated apologies. She urged Congress to have interaction in additional oversight of those points, notably because the Biden administration’s supposed shift to “over the horizon” fashions of counterterrorism might recreate lots of the situations which have led to civilian casualties previously.
Siemion then opened the dialog with some further authorized context. She famous that, beneath worldwide human rights legislation, deadly operations are often solely permissible as a final resort as a way to forestall threats to others’ lives. However the legislation of armed battle is extra permissive. After the 9/11 assaults, america opted to method world counterterrorism as a army marketing campaign beneath the latter, as a substitute of a legislation enforcement effort beneath the previous. Even then, the brink for who might be focused has shifted from these straight concerned in hostilities to incorporate all members of assorted organizations with which america maintains it’s in an armed battle. The result’s a low bar for utilizing deadly drive, which contributes considerably to civilian casualties.
From there, the research group moved into open dialogue. Subjects mentioned embody the worth of apologies and condolence funds, together with in relation to counterterrorism efforts; the necessity for various tips relying on which international nation or context operations are being pursued in; the significance of—and challenges dealing with—congressional oversight; and what to do about errors or deliberate manipulations by international companions.
Go to the Congressional Examine Group on Overseas Relations and Nationwide Safety touchdown web page to entry notes and knowledge on different periods.
