Trump alters Obama-era bill on civilian casualties in US airstrikes

The Trump administration has revoked part of an Obama-era executive order mandating an annual accounting of how many civilians have died in military and CIA strikes, reducing the potential for public scrutiny of counterterrorism activities overseas, WP reported.

The White House said in a statement that the change affected one section of President Barack Obama’s 2016 order on civilian casualties, which was part of an effort to provide a clearer picture of the attacks.

The section that was rescinded required an annual public report tallying how many counterterrorism strikes involving drones or manned aircraft occurred outside war zones, as well as estimating how many civilians were killed.

In a message sent to Capitol Hill shortly before the announcement, the State Department said the report was redundant because Congress had subsequently passed legislation requiring the Defense Department to provide a separate, more exhaustive annual report on civilian casualties resulting from military activities.

Activists had accused the Obama administration of underreporting the number of civilians killed by US airstrikes but considered the 2016 order a step forward.

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Navy Cmdr. Candice Tresch, said in a statement that all executive order requirements related to military efforts to minimize civilian casualties “continue to apply.”

In a statement, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said there was “simply no justification” for the move. He said he would seek to make such reporting mandatory through an annual intelligence bill.

Although the congressionally mandated report requires more detailed, comprehensive information on military strikes than the 2016 order does, Lewis said he was concerned that the Trump administration had failed to comply with other sections, including a requirement to periodically convene officials from across the government to discuss civilian-casualty trends.

“The consequences of that are seen in Mosul and Raqqa, where the risk to civilians grew and grew, and there were no adjustments made,” he said, referring to the intense 2016-2017 bombing campaigns in and around the ISIS’ twin capitals in Iraq and Syria, respectively.

The White House announcement comes as the Pentagon undertakes a major review of its handling of civilian casualties, an effort that resulted from public criticism surrounding a surge in reported civilian deaths during the military’s air war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.