I even went to work as the first (and as yet only) senior adviser on human rights in the office of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The progress wasn’t anywhere near adequate, but it was something. As an advocate for minimizing war’s unintended casualties, I had seen these incremental gains accumulate over a decade. “These practices are not perfect, even today, but they represent marked improvements in the conduct of war,” I wrote at the time for Foreign Affairs. military was taking steps in Afghanistan and Iraq to investigate civilian casualties, track the aftereffects of its operations, and compensate victims. With civilian protection seen as critical to a successful mission, the U.S. Lessons from the Vietnam War about the strategic imperative to not kill civilians were ubiquitous in conversations with U.S. ![]() The counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan meant winning the hearts and minds of the population. military was making progress in reducing the harm its operations caused to civilians. An aerial view of the Pentagon building in Washington, June 15, 2005.Įight years ago, it looked like the U.S.
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