(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/28/22) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today responded to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III yesterday issuing a memorandum directing the Department of Defense to, in the next 60 days, build an action plan on civilian harm mitigation and response.
Secretary Austin’s order came following a critical RAND Corporation study that found the “DoD is not adequately organized, structured, or resourced to sufficiently mitigate and respond to civilian-harm issues,” and national and international outcry over an August 29 U.S. military drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children.
The Rand Corporation study also found that the “DoD’s responses to civilian harm have historically been inconsistent and confusing” and the “military’s standard for finding a civilian casualty report to be credible is higher than advertised.”
In a statement, CAIR Director of Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“We encourage the Department of Defense to use this new review to take real and concrete actions that will protect civilians from harm.
“Over the past 20 years, drone strikes and other attacks conducted by the Pentagon and the CIA have killed thousands of Muslim civilians in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and elsewhere.
“As long as the Pentagon views even a single civilian death as acceptable ‘collateral damage,’ and as long as it merely seeks to minimize the number of innocents killed during drone strikes and other bombing operations, innocent people will continue to be at risk.
“The Department of Defense must stop launching unauthorized drone strikes on foreign countries, adopt a zero civilian harm policy when engaged in legitimate military operations, and hold its leaders accountable when they take innocent lives.”
In November, CAIR strongly condemned a Pentagon report that found no violation of law took place in its killing of 10 Afghan civilians saying: “If slaughtering ten innocent Afghan civilians–including a two-year-old girl–is not a crime under American law, then our laws are unjust.”
In its “100-Day Agenda for Biden Administration” released following President Biden’s election, CAIR wrote:
“Whenever our nation engages in military action overseas, we must do so only as a last resort, act with clear congressional authorization and within the limits of the Constitution, respect international law, honor the sovereignty of foreign nations, and most importantly, protect civilians from harm.”
In 2019, CAIR condemned a drone strike by U.S. military forces in Afghanistan that killed 30 pine nut farmers. American officials said the attack was intended to target ISIS fighters.
SEE: CAIR Condemns U.S. Drone Strike That Killed 30 Afghan Farmers
CAIR has expressed solidarity with the Afghan-American community and called on the Biden Administration to do everything possible to welcome Afghan refugees to the United States while protecting Afghan civilians.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List
https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters
Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel
Follow CAIR on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cair_national/
Donate to CAIR
https://action.cair.com/a/donate
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more information, email: [email protected], CC [email protected]
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected] ReplyReply allForwardIA