No troops disciplined in US strike killing Afghan civilians

WASHINGTON – No U.S. troops progressive successful the August drone onslaught that killed guiltless Kabul civilians and children volition look disciplinary action, U.S. defence officials said Monday.

The Pentagon said that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved recommendations for improvements successful onslaught operations from the generals who pb U.S. Central Command and Special Operations Command, based connected the findings of an independent Pentagon reappraisal released past month. There were nary recommendations for subject made by the generals, said John Kirby, main Pentagon spokesman.

The review, done by Air Force Lt. Gen. Sami Said and endorsed by Austin successful November, recovered determination were breakdowns successful connection and successful the process of identifying and confirming the people of the bombing, which killed 10 civilians, including 7 children. But helium concluded that the onslaught was a tragic mistake and not caused by misconduct oregon negligence.

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Austin asked Gen. Frank McKenzie, caput of Central Command, and Gen. Richard Clarke, caput of Special Operations Command, to reappraisal Said's conclusions and travel backmost to him with recommendations. The 2 commanders agreed with Said's findings, and they did not urge immoderate discipline. Kirby said Monday that Austin endorsed their decisions, including the deficiency of disciplinary actions.

“None of their recommendations dealt specifically with issues of accountability,” Kirby said. "So I bash not expect determination being issues of idiosyncratic accountability to beryllium had with respect to the August 29th airstrike.”

The Aug. 29 drone onslaught connected a achromatic Toyota Corolla sedan killed Zemerai Ahmadi and 9 household members, including 7 children. Ahmadi, 37, was a longtime worker of an American humanitarian organization.

“We cognize that determination volition beryllium immoderate who don’t similar this peculiar decision, but it wasn’t an result that we came to without cautious thought and consideration,” said Kirby. He said that if Austin “believed that accountability was warranted and needed, helium would surely enactment those kinds of efforts."

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The quality astir the car and its imaginable menace came conscionable days aft an Islamic State termination bomber killed 13 U.S. troops and 169 Afghans astatine a Kabul airdrome gate. The U.S. was moving to evacuate thousands of Americans, Afghans and different allies successful the aftermath of the illness of the country’s government.

Said concluded that U.S. forces genuinely believed that the car they were pursuing was an imminent menace and that they needed to onslaught it earlier it got person to the airport. He concluded that amended connection betwixt those making the onslaught determination and different enactment unit mightiness person raised much doubts astir the bombing, but successful the extremity whitethorn not person prevented it.

He made a fig of recommendations, including that much beryllium done to forestall what subject officials telephone “confirmation bias” — the thought that troops making the onslaught determination were excessively speedy to reason that what they were seeing aligned with the quality and confirmed their decision to weaponry what turned retired to beryllium the incorrect car.

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And helium said the subject should person unit contiguous with a onslaught team, and their occupation should beryllium to actively question specified conclusions. He besides recommended that the subject amended its procedures to guarantee that children and different guiltless civilians are not contiguous earlier launching a time-sensitive strike.

Officials said McKenzie and Clarke mostly agreed with Said's recommendations.

The U.S. is working to wage fiscal reparations to the relatives and surviving household members, and perchance get them retired of Afghanistan, but thing has been finalized. Asked wherefore it was taking truthful long, Kirby said the U.S. wants to marque definite that the household is gotten retired arsenic safely arsenic possible, and that precocious level discussions astir that are ongoing.

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