Pentagon quietly shut legally required program to prevent civilian deaths by military, watchdog finds

The Pentagon has quietly dismantled a program it is legally required to operate to prevent and respond to civilian deaths in US military operations, according to its internal watchdog. A report released by the department’s inspector general concluded the US military no longer has the people, tools or infrastructure needed to comply with two federal statutes requiring it to maintain a functioning civilian casualty policy, and operate a Civilian Protection Center of Excellence (CP CoE). Donald Trump’s administration has been accused of making deep cuts to the Pentagon’s civilian harm mitigation and response (CHMR) program, designed to handle training and procedures critical in limiting civilian harm in theaters of war. While the program has not been officially canceled, the inspector general’s report said that funding had ended for a data management platform; committee meetings had halted; and many dedicated personnelhad been lost or reassigned. “As a result, the DoW may not comply with its civilian casualties and harm policy,” the report read. “A policy required by federal law.” The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment. The program was created by Lloyd Austin, then defense secretary, in January 2022 , under Joe Biden, following years of deadly US bombing campaigns in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. …