SecDef Austin: Investigation of Aug. 29 Airstrike in Kabul: Austin was the Drone War Man targeting ISIS since 2014
Austin on U.S. Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria:
Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III — who took command of CENTCOM in 2013, retired in 2016.
Austin noted that five Sunni Arab-led nations took part in the first airstrikes against ISIL inside of Syria on Sept. 23, 2014.
That the region is important to America is undisputed. “[The region] holds over half of the world’s proven oil reserves and plentiful natural gas reserves,” Austin said in an interview. “There also are three strategic maritime choke points — the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and Bab el Mandeb Strait.” If freedom of movement within these waterways is obstructed it can have a significant impact on the global economy, he added.
ISIL is becoming less capable and increasingly demoralized, paranoid and prone to defections, the general said. Setbacks in Iraq and Syria are also causing them to revert to terrorist attacks like the ones launched in Paris; Ankara, Turkey; San Bernardino, California; and most recently, Brussels.
“While the fight against ISIL remains incredibly complex, and while the defeat of this enemy will take time and it will not be easy, we will get it done,” he said.
Since the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011, the region has been in turmoil. “We are currently supporting the efforts of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen,” Austin said. “We maintain pressure on extremist networks and actively pursue terrorists wherever they are in the region on a daily basis.”
The command continues to support coalition operations in Afghanistan, “where we are helping our Afghan partners to build additional needed capability, while at the same time preventing that country from once again becoming a safe haven for al-Qaida and other extremist groups,” the general said. “We continue to keep a close eye on Iran.
Meanwhile Thousands of air strikes have been conducted in Iraq and Syria and still are regularly being conducted, without such oversight as the public has war fatigue. Thousands of civilians have been killed in those wars. Over 30 pages of lots of dozens of strikes since 2014 are recorded.
U.S. Central Command statement on defensive strike in Kabul
By U.S. Central Command Public Affairs 29 August
U.S. military forces conducted a self-defense unmanned over-the-horizon airstrike today on a vehicle in Kabul, eliminating an imminent ISIS-K threat to Hamad Karzai International airport.
We are confident we successfully hit the target. Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material.
We are assessing the possibilities of civilian casualties, though we have no indications at this time. We remain vigilant for potential future threats.
– Capt. Bill Urban, USN, U.S. Central Command Spokesman
UPDATE:
We are aware of reports of civilian casualties following our strike on a vehicle in Kabul today.
We are still assessing the results of this strike, which we know disrupted an imminent ISIS-K threat to the airport. We know that there were substantial and powerful subsequent explosions resulting from the destruction of the vehicle, indicating a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional casualties. It is unclear what may have happened, and we are investigating further.
We would be deeply saddened by any potential loss of innocent life.
– Capt. Bill Urban, USN, U.S. Central Command Spokesman
Investigation of Aug. 29 Airstrike in Kabul to Get Its Own Review
| BY C. TODD LOPEZ,
The Initial Investigation:
The strike by a Hellfire missile in Kabul, August 29, which was launched in an effort to kill ISIS-K planners, instead killed 10 civilians, the commander of U.S. Central Command, Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr. said.
“Having thoroughly reviewed the findings of the investigation and the supporting analysis by interagency partners, I am now convinced that as many as 10 civilians — including up to seven children — were tragically killed in that strike,” he said.
“Moreover, we now assess that it is unlikely that the vehicle and those who died were associated with ISIS-K or were a direct threat to U.S. forces.”
The investigation performed by U.S. Central Command to look into the Aug. 29 airstrike in Kabul will itself undergo further review, the Defense Department announced today.
Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby today announced that Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has asked Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall to task a military officer — three-stars or higher — to conduct a review of the Centcom investigation.
“Part of that review will be to examine the investigation itself, the thoroughness of the investigation, to study the degree to which any policies, procedures or targeting mechanisms may need to be altered going forward, if any, and of course to then take a look at what levels of accountability might be appropriate and if so at what level,” Kirby said during a briefing today at the Pentagon.
According to Kirby, the secretary of defense has asked that the review be completed within 45 days. He also said that the role of that officer would be to make recommendations, rather than to take actions. He said if the reviewing officer believes that there needs to be accountability, that should be annotated in the report when it is passed on to the secretary of the Air Force and the secretary of defense.
On Friday, the commander of U.S. Central Command, Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr., briefed the findings of an investigation into an August 29 airstrike in Kabul, where a Hellfire missile was launched in an effort to kill ISIS-K planners, but instead killed 10 civilians.
“Having thoroughly reviewed the findings of the investigation and the supporting analysis by interagency partners, I am now convinced that as many as 10 civilians — including up to seven children — were tragically killed in that strike,” McKenzie said.
It will be this investigation that was conducted by Centcom that will undergo further review by the senior Air Force officer.
As a result of that airstrike, the Defense Department has said it is looking into ex gratia payments, or payments made out of a sense of moral obligation rather than legal requirement, to the family members of those killed. Additionally, media has reported that some of the surviving family members have expressed concerns about staying in Afghanistan and that some of those family members have expressed an interest in coming to the United States. Kirby said Centcom is now looking into both issues.
“We know that Central Command is working through how best to reach out to them for the issue of payments, but also to determine the validity of this interest in moving out,” he said.
While Kirby said Centcom is still looking into both issues, and that it was too early to announce any decisions there, he did say he believes the secretary of defense would support those individuals coming to the U.S.
“I believe the secretary of defense would absolutely support, if the family wanted to leave Afghanistan and come to the United States. I believe he would support that,” Kirby said. “[That is] assuming that … all the proper legal hoops were worked through. I don’t want to get ahead of a process or decision that hasn’t been made yet, but I think he would absolutely consider that.”
Meanwhile Thousands of air strikes have been conducted in Iraq and Syria, without such oversight as the public has war fatigue. Thousands of civilians have been killed in those wars. Over 30 pages of lots of dozens of strikes since 2014 are recorded.