25 October 2001
Fact Sheet: U.S. Military Efforts to Avoid Civilian Casualties
(U.S. Forces Target Only Military and Terrorist Sites) (550)
(begin fact sheet)
The following fact sheet, issued by the State Department's Office of
International Information Programs, outlines U.S. efforts to avoid
civilian casualties in the current campaign against al Qaida and the
Taliban in Afghanistan.
-- U.S. military forces are taking extraordinary measures to avoid
civilian casualties, as they hunt down the terrorists hiding out in
Afghanistan.
-- U.S. military efforts now underway are to bring the terrorists --
al Qaida and their Taliban protectors -- to justice.
-- The perpetrators of the September 11 attacks in the United States
killed more than 5,000 civilians -- citizens of more than 80
countries.
-- As a result, President Bush declared war on global terrorism, and
said we will use military, financial and law enforcement measures to
conduct this war. We are now in the military phase of this war on
terrorism.
-- The U.S. recognizes that the Afghan people are not terrorists, but
that the Taliban have turned Afghanistan into a base for terrorists.
-- This is not a war against the Afghan people; it is a war against
terrorists. The U.S. is targeting only military and terrorist sites.
-- No weapon or munitions can be 100 percent accurate. There have been
some civilian casualties, for which the U.S. has apologized.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that civilian casualties can be
entirely avoided.
-- U.S. forces are not using chemical or biological weapons in
Afghanistan.
-- To limit possible impact of our weapons on civilian populations, we
use precision-guided munitions.
-- To save lives, we choose munitions according to the size of the
target and its proximity to civilian areas.
-- To avoid injuring civilians, we check and recheck the targets.
-- U.S. military targets include: terrorist camps, airfields, radar
sites, Taliban ground forces, buildings they are using, armored
vehicles, communication facilities, military training facilities, and
al Qaida leadership. To be safe, civilians should stay away from all
of them.
-- Taliban claims that hundreds of civilians have been killed are
exaggerations.
-- Taliban forces are seeking cover in residential neighborhoods,
university dormitories, mosques, and other civilian buildings. By
doing so, they are endangering the people they claim to govern.
Official statements on avoiding civilian casualties:
"We regret any loss of civilian life. U.S. forces are intentionally
striking only military and terrorist targets. We take great care in
our targeting process to avoid civilian casualties." (Department of
Defense spokeswoman Victoria Clarke, October 23)
"The last thing we want to do is cause any civilian casualties."
(General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, October
22)
"The Taliban have said they have shot down at least two helicopters,
which is false. They have not. They have indicated that they have
captured some Americans, which is false. They have not.... We have
seen repeatedly things that are not true put out by the Taliban."
(Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, October 22)
The U.S. is "focused totally on military targets." (Secretary of
Defense Rumsfeld, October 19)
"We have taken every possible step to avoid civilian casualties, to
make sure that the U.S. military response is carefully targeted....
This is, as we have made clear many, many times, not an attack on the
Afghan people. The objective is to end the terrorist threat to the
world community."(Department of State spokesman Richard Boucher on
October 11)
(end fact sheet)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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