ACLU Comment on Trump Administration Report on Civilians Killed Abroad

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration today made public an unclassified version of a Congressionally-mandated report on the number of civilians it believes it killed in military operations abroad. The report estimates that 132 civilians were killed and 91 were injured in 2019 as a result of U.S. military operations in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia.

Below is comment from Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, in response:

“Years into America’s unending conflicts, the Trump administration is again undercounting the actual number of civilians killed or injured overseas. Compared to credible independent media accounts and rights groups’ investigations, it is clear that the Pentagon’s investigations are still woefully inadequate. Continuing secrecy about the costs and consequences of Trump’s killing policies prevents meaningful public oversight and accountability for wrongful deaths and perpetual war-based policies. Civilian victims, their families, and the American public deserve more than this.”