INNOCENTS AT RISK Pentagon OKs strikes against ISIL that put more civilians in line of fire
The Pentagon has approved airstrikes that risk more civilian casualties to destroy Islamic State targets as part of its increasingly aggressive fight against the militant group in Iraq and Syria, according to interviews with military officials and data.
Since last fall, the Pentagon has delegated more authority to the commander of the war, Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, to approve targets when there is the risk that civilians could be killed. Previously, authority for missions with the potential to kill innocents had been made by the higher headquarters of U. S. Central Command. Seeking approval from above takes time, and targets of fleeting opportunity can be missed.
Six Defense Department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe how Islamic State targets are selected and attacked, described a sliding scale of probable civilian casualties based on the value of the target and the location. For example, a strike with the potential to wound or kill several civilians would be permitted if it prevented ISIL fighters from causing greater harm.
Before the change, there were some
The increased tolerance for civilian casualties dovetails with the revised strategy Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced in October.
limited cases in which civilian casualties were allowed, the officials said. Now, there are several targeting areas in which the probability of 10 civilian casualties are permitted.
The riskiest missions require White House approval, said one official, who is closely involved with current targeting plans.
David Deptula, a retired three- star Air Force general who led its intelligence and surveillance efforts, said easing the restrictions was a necessary but insufficient step toward defeating the Islamic State, or ISIL. The “painfully slow, incremental efforts of the current administration undercut the principals of modern warfare, and harken back to the approach followed by the Johnson administration,” said Deptula, who leads the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
The increased tolerance for civilian casualties dovetails with the revised strategy Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced in October — the focus on recapturing Ramadi, Iraq, mounting more raids to capture or kill ISIL leaders and adding pressure to Raqqa, Syria, the capital of ISIL’s self- proclaimed state.
Among the issues commanders consider before attacking is the target’s “non- combatant value.” A value of zero means it can be hit with no chance of civilians being killed — think of an ISIL machine gun emplacement in the desert.
The value rises in urban areas such as Ramadi, which Iraqi forces seized from ISIL in December. Pockets of Ramadi have had non- combatant values of 10 or more, meaning that attacking them carries the probability of 10 civilian deaths, said the most senior of the six Defense officials.
The more aggressive approach has been reflected in the bombing statistics released by the Pentagon.
In November, pilots in the U. S.- led coalition had dropped 3,227 bombs in Iraq and Syria, a record number for a single month.