Fmr. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman: ‘Absolutely’ There Should Be Accountability for Drone Strike That Killed Civilians
Reparations could be on the table for victims, families
There “absolutely” should be accountability for the drone strike late last month that killed as many as 10 civilians — including up to 7 children — in Afghanistan, according to a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The strike was carried out because the US military said that they initially believed that another terrorist attack was imminent, similar to the one which took the lives of 13 US service members defending the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, as the US military was leading the evacuation of American and Afghan citizens to safety following the collapse of the Western-backed government there.
Following the US drone strike on August 29, Gen Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, apologized and admitted 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.”
ISIS-K is a terrorist organization operating within Afghanistan.
Retired Adm. Michael Mullen, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs from 2007 through 2011, praised McKenzie's response and said that more ought to be forthcoming from the US government for the victims of the US drone attack and their families.
“Tragic, tragic mistake and just my heart goes out those family members that were so deeply affected. And I thought, I thought what Gen. McKenzie did was right, to admit the mistake and apologize,” Mullen said.
However there is more that the US government can, and perhaps should, do, including reparations paid to the victims and their families, the retired Naval officer said.
“This was an incredibly fast-moving, complex situation. We had lost those 13 military members a couple of days before that. There was clear intelligence that additional [terrorist] strikes were on their way. So it was in that environment that this [drone] strike took place,” Mullen said.
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