MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th February, 2021) The US needs to learn how to prevent civilian casualties and reduce collateral damage during its operations abroad, the US government-financed RAND think tank revealed in a new research.
The research, titled "The Air War Against the Islamic State [terror group, banned in Russia]" examined the US-led efforts against the IS in Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2019.
In its recommendations based on research findings RAND said that "The joint force should revise its targeting doctrine based on the experience in Operation Inherent Resolve," in order to make "the target-development process ... more efficient."
RAND said that US airmen must be taught rules of engagement in air-to-air operations, so that they understand that they are expected to defend the airspace, while avoiding inadvertent escalation.
"The Air Force will need to limit civilian casualties and collateral damage, requiring it to allocate precision-guided munitions efficiently across theaters and identify how to safely use second- and third-choice munitions," RAND said in its findings.
The think tank said that the US air force needs more targeteers and intelligence professionals to support a more efficient target-development process.
According to official 2019 data from coalition forces, 1,319 civilians were killed in Iraq and Syria starting from 2014 as a result of airstrikes carried out by the US and its allies. Meanwhile the UK-based Airwars non-profit tracker estimates that the number of civilian casualties could be ten times higher: up to 13,000 people killed.
