In a bow to public outrage over a recent spate of U.S.-led airstrikes in Afghanistan that resulted in more than 100 civilian deaths, NATO officials have ordered commanders to try to lessen their reliance on air power in battles with insurgents, NATO and Afghan officials said Wednesday. Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette, NATO's chief spokesman in Afghanistan, said commanders are now under orders to consider a "tactical withdrawal" when faced with the choice of calling in air support during clashes in areas where civilians are believed to be present. The goal of the order is to minimize civilian casualties, encourage better coordination with Afghan troops and discourage overreliance on air power to repel insurgent attacks, Blanchette said. "We'll do anything we can to prevent unnecessary casualties, and we'll ensure that we'll have safe use of force. That includes not only airstrikes but ground operations," Blanchette said.
Confusion and controversy over airstrikes have bedeviled the U.S.-led military mission in Afghanistan in recent months. This summer, three U.S. airstrikes in separate parts of the country that killed more than 100 Afghan civilians provoked sharp criticism from Afghan government officials, the United Nations and international humanitarian groups.
According to the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, more than 1,400 Afghan civilians were killed in the first eight months of this year. Of those, 395 were killed in airstrikes by Western forces. The number of civilians killed by U.S.- and NATO-led airstrikes has risen by 21 percent this year, a recent U.N. report said.
U.S. Gen. David D. McKiernan, top commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, issued the new order early last month. The revised approach came only days after U.N. officials said an investigation into an Aug. 21 airstrike on the town of Azizabad, in the western province of Herat, had revealed that at least 90 civilians were killed when U.S. jets bombarded a suspected Taliban compound there. The U.N. allegations conflicted with accounts initially given by U.S. military officials in Afghanistan, who said their investigation found only five civilians had been killed.
U.S. military officials reversed course, however, after McKiernan called for a reinvestigation of the incident when new evidence emerged. A subsequent independent probe conducted by a top U.S. general concluded that at least 30 civilians were killed in the strike.
The Azizabad attack prompted widespread outrage in Afghanistan and led Afghan President Hamid Karzai to call for a review of the rules of conduct for foreign troops operating in the country.