L.A. Times: U.S. military officer in charge of approving airstrikes defends procedures used to prevent civilian deaths
As the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State faces increasing criticism for killing civilians in airstrikes on the dense neighborhoods of west Mosul, a senior U.S. military officer in Iraq defended the procedures used to prevent such deaths.
“We are very careful about how much collateral damage we are going to cause,” Brig. Gen. Rick Uribe, who is responsible for approving strikes in many parts of Iraq, said Thursday.
“We’re here to defeat them,” he said of the Islamic State militants, “and we’re going to do it the moral way.”
To illustrate the procedures — and the difficulties Iraqi forces and their international backers face in targeting militants without hurting civilians — Uribe played two black-and-white surveillance videos for The Times during a visit to the coalition’s joint operations center and “strike cell” in Baghdad’s Green Zone. Both were taken within the last month in west Mosul and show militants using people as shields.
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More News On High Civilians Casualties In The War Against The Islamic State
The rising civilian death toll in the campaign against Islamic State -- Los Angeles Times
CENTCOM: Avoiding civilian casualties in Mosul will become more difficult -- Stars and Stripes
U.S. military says difficult to avoid Mosul casualties, probes blast -- Reuters
US Generals Warn of More Civilian Casualties, As ISIS Wages Desperate Fight in Mosul -- Foreign Policy
Investigation of Mosul civil casualties expanded -- CNN
Dem rep demands answers from Mattis on civilian casualties -- The Hill
Defeating ISIS and protecting civilians in Raqqa -- Frederic C. Hof, Defense News
US Generals Warn of More Civilian Casualties to Come in Mosul Invasion -- Antiwar.com
High-tech US weaponry can't prevent civilian deaths in Iraq -- Middle East Eye
Civilian casualties in Iraq, Syria undercut US victories -- AP
Why the Spike in Civilian Casualties of US Military Action? -- Newsweek
Civilian casualties are not inevitable. The military sets an acceptable number in advance -- L.A. Times
