U.S. defense chief has ordered military to better protect civilians Drone Attacks News

Lloyd Austin’s remarks come as he denounces U.S. drone strikes that have killed civilians in the Middle East, Afghanistan.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has issued a directive ordering the U.S. military to do more to protect civilians from damage from drone strikes and other combat operations.

In a two-page note to senior Pentagon civilian and military officials, Austin on Thursday ordered the U.S. Department of Defense to review its position on protecting civilians in conflict zones.

“The protection of innocent civilians in the conduct of our operations remains essential to the success of our operations and as a significant strategic and moral asset,” the statement said.

The Secretary of Defense requested an Action Plan from the Unified Head of State to prevent damage to civilians and to improve the U.S. response when such events occur. This plan is for 90 days.

Austin also called for the creation of a civilian “center of excellence” for U.S. knowledge and for the military to think of “preventing, mitigating, and responding to civilian damage.”

“The end of our military mission in Afghanistan and our Iraq’s transition to advisory capacityas well as the latest research and analysis, offer us new opportunities to alleviate our civil damage and improve our ability to respond, ”the statement said.

The directive follows US drone attack on Afghan capital, Kabul, In August, 10 civilians were killed, including seven children widespread condemnation and demands responsibilities.

The Pentagon initially defended the bombing, and in Khorasan province, ISKP (ISIS-K) claimed to have killed Islamic State workers, but later acknowledged that civilians had been killed and Austin personally apologized.

The Pentagon after all he did not punish the troopsThat the August 29 bombing of the Afghan capital did not violate the laws of war and did not result in misconduct or criminal negligence.

That decision it sparked more criticismand a group of Democratic lawmakers have recently called for “innovation” in Pentagon policies governing drone strikes to “focus on human rights and the protection of civilians.”

“In too many cases, U.S. drone strikes have had unintended and deadly consequences: killing civilians and escalating anger at the U.S.,” a group of 50 U.S. lawmakers wrote in a January 20 letter to President Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, recent Pentagon documents show that the U.S. Middle East air war has been a “very poor intelligence” and a “bad destination,” killing more than 1,000 civilians in the past decade, according to one. New York Times research.

The newspaper reported that the commitments to transparency and accountability were regularly failed, as “not a single record provided was found to be flawed or disciplinary.”

Austin was quoted as saying by the US-funded RAND Corporation on Thursday that an independent study was conducted for the Pentagon, and that the Department of Defense “is not properly organized, structured, or lacks the resources to mitigate and respond to civilian damage.”

“There are not enough full-time civilian personnel, and those involved in civilian affairs often receive minimal training on the duties they are required to perform,” the RAND report said.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Austin’s remarks were intended to reconsider the U.S. military’s approach.

It is also based on previous defense work and political work on Austin’s command experience, Kirby said, even when the media reports on civilian deaths.

“The secretary was the ground commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is not an unknown issue. So a lot is being reported,” he said.