U.S., NATO LOOK TO MITIGATE COLLATERAL DAMAGE FROM U.S. AIRSTRIKES

摘要

Despite significant strides in curtailing collateral damage to civilians from U.S. airstrikes against insurgents on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, challenges remain, according to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz.rnInsurgent forces consistently and deliberately operate in areas with considerable civilian populations in order to complicate targeting and execution of U.S.-led tactical airstrikes, said Schwartz.rn"It is complicated because our adversary is well aware of our sensitivities to civilian casualties. They are also aware of the dynamic that creates on the ground," he said in an April 24 speech in Washington.