Report Stresses Need To Curtail Civilian Deaths

Even though the troops on the ground and the pilots who provided close air support for them followed the rules of armed conflict during a May 4 firefight in Afghanistan’s Farah province, a panel of Defense Department investigators determined that more could have been done, and should be done in future operations, to ensure the safety of civilians. The panel did not discount reports that 26 Afghan civilians died in an air raid during the fight, which targeted and killed 78 Taliban fighters, and stopped short of recommending that close-air-support missions in such situations be curtailed. But the panel believes that a review of operational and tactical procedures – including the role of close air support – is necessary. When the review is complete, all troops should be retrained accordingly. The report also called for better lines of communications between coalition forces and international humanitarian organizations who maintain a presence in the theater.