New U.S. orders in Afghanistan aim to reduce deaths
KABUL (Reuters) - The new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan will issue orders within days requiring troops to disengage from combat when possible, to reduce civilian deaths that have put their mission at risk, a spokesman said.
General Stanley McChrystal, who took the reins of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan a week ago, has repeatedly pledged to take steps to limit civilian casualties, especially from air strikes, which have infuriated Afghans.
A U.S. military report issued last week found strikes by U.S. B1 bombers in May that killed dozens of civilians had violated orders already in place at the time. That report recommended drawing up new guidelines and ordering all U.S. forces operating in Afghanistan to undergo new training.
McChrystal's spokesman, Rear Admiral Greg Smith, said McChrystal hopes to publish the new guidelines soon, after taking advice from commanders he is meeting on a "listening tour" during his first days in the country.
A classified version should be issued "in a couple of days," and the military will also publish an unclassified version to show the public the steps it is taking.
The new orders will allow U.S. forces to continue to use air strikes and other weapons when they or their allies are under imminent threat, but will oblige them to disengage from combat if they can do so safely when civilians might be harmed, Smith said.
"Even if you are receiving fire from a structure, the first question you have to ask is: 'Can I de-escalate the situation by removing my force or relocating it'," Smith said.
The guidelines are meant to influence the decision-making of commanders on the ground, and troops will not necessarily be punished for misjudging them if their actions are lawful.
"These are often not legal issues as much as they are both moral and what is operationally prudent," Smith said. "If our operations result in excessive impact, injuries or deaths, then potentially it puts our mission here at risk."
IT'S NOT WHAT WE SAY, IT'S WHAT WE DO
The emphasis on disengaging to protect civilians is hardly new. McChrystal's predecessor, General David McKiernan, issued a similar tactical directive last year after an incident involving a large number of civilian deaths.
But Smith said the guidance needed to be reinforced and expanded to do a better job of making sure troops understand the consequences of harming civilians, and act accordingly.
"Clearly the guidance that was out there was not precise enough, not clear enough to be understood by the entire force," he said.
"It's not what we say. It's going to be what we do. We've got to retrain and educate the force. But then it's going to be a question of how we operate."
The military says orders already in place under McKiernan were violated in last month's bombing in western Farah province.
The B1 bombers dropped three 2000 lb (900 kg) bombs and five 500 lb bombs, destroying two housing compounds and a mosque some distance from where a daylong battle had taken place, because pilots saw people gather in them and believed they were fighters.
The report found no one in the buildings was shooting when they were destroyed and steps had not been taken to ensure there were no civilians present.
It concluded that the strikes "did not adhere to all of the specific guidance and commander's intent contained in the controlling directive."
U.S. investigators initially estimated about 26 civilians had died along with about 76 fighters, but the military's report noted an Afghan human rights agency had tallied 86 dead civilians and called its conclusions "balanced" and "thorough."
(Editing by Jerry Norton)
