New rules of engagement encourage Taliban to take human shields

Washington Post:

In a bow to public outrage over a recent spate of U.S.-led airstrikes in Afghanistan that resulted in more than 100 civilian deaths, NATO officials have ordered commanders to try to lessen their reliance on air power in battles with insurgents, NATO and Afghan officials said Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette, NATO's chief spokesman in Afghanistan, said commanders are now under orders to consider a "tactical withdrawal" when faced with the choice of calling in air support during clashes in areas where civilians are believed to be present. The goal of the order is to minimize civilian casualties, encourage better coordination with Afghan troops and discourage overreliance on air power to repel insurgent attacks, Blanchette said.

"We'll do anything we can to prevent unnecessary casualties, and we'll ensure that we'll have safe use of force. That includes not only airstrikes but ground operations," Blanchette said.

Confusion and controversy over airstrikes have bedeviled the U.S.-led military mission in Afghanistan in recent months. This summer, three U.S. airstrikes in separate parts of the country that killed more than 100 Afghan civilians provoked sharp criticism from Afghan government officials, the United Nations and international humanitarian groups.

According to the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, more than 1,400 Afghan civilians were killed in the first eight months of this year. Of those, 395 were killed in airstrikes by Western forces. The number of civilians killed by U.S.- and NATO-led airstrikes has risen by 21 percent this year, a recent U.N. report said.

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First the lead contains a factual error. There were not over 100 civilian casualties in the disputed raid. There may not have been half that many.

What the new policy does is award the Taliban for blatant violations of the Geneva Conventions by encouraging them to commit the war crime of taking human shields and camouflaging themselves among civilians. Much of the confusion has been caused by a Taliban information operation aimed at stopping the most effective tactic we have at destroying their ambushes and attacks. These air attacks have been devastating to the Taliban and have made their traditional tactics ineffective against our forces. The new policy will endanger our troops and Afghan civilians.