The U.S. military has dropped some 8,200 bombs in the fight against ISIS, and it claims that not a single one has produced any civilian casualties. "To date, we've got a very good record," says Lt. Gen. James L. Terry. "I am tracking no civilian casualties."
This incredible claim flies in the face of both common sense and independent, on-the-ground reports. And, in fact, it's only possible because Terry was speaking strictly literally when he says he's not tracking any civilian casualties: The Pentagon is not bothering to count civilian deaths.
This is not the first time the U.S. has simply ignored the civilian death toll. In the early years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, no count was kept of civilian casualties until local outrage at apparently haphazard bombing campaigns forced greater accountability.
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