Pentagon hid civilian casualties in American warzones, Congress says
A pair of lawmakers sent a letter to the Pentagon on Monday criticizing the U.S. Department of Defense for allegedly undercounting civilian casualties in American warzones.
The letter, obtained by Politico, was penned by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), and accused the Defense Department and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin of downplaying the number of deaths in its latest report to Congress.
The department's report stated that approximately 12 civilians were killed and an additional five were injured during combat operations in 2021 in Somalia and Afghanistan. However, Warren and Jacobs wrote that the Pentagon did not include any civilian deaths in Syria "despite credible civilian casualty monitors documenting at least 15 civilian deaths and 17 civilian injuries" in the country.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In addition, the letter claimed that the Pentagon's report "appeared to undercount additional civilian casualties from Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) that occurred prior to 2021."
As part of this mission, the Defense Department said that four civilians were killed and 15 more were injured as part of an airstrike in Syria in 2019. However, Warren and Jacobs cited an investigation by The New York Times which found the military "concealed the extent of the civilian casualties," with sources claiming at least 160 civilians died during the attack.
"One reason for this underreporting appears to be that DoD is not giving appropriate weight to outside sources when investigating casualty reports," the letter said. "Moving forward it is also essential that the Department improve mechanisms for civilians to report civilian harm."
-
What have Trump’s Mar-a-Lago summits achieved?Today’s big question Zelenskyy and Netanyahu meet the president in his Palm Beach ‘Winter White House’
-
The most anticipated movies of 2026The Week Recommends If the trailers are anything to go by, film buffs are in for a treat
-
The biggest viral moments of 2025In the Spotlight From the Coldplay concert kiss cam to a celebrity space mission, these are some of the craziest, and most unexpected, things to happen this year
-
Supreme Court bars Trump’s military use in ChicagoSpeed Read
-
Trump unveils new ‘Trump class’ US warshipsSpeed Read
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
