Advanced military technology has revolutionized the way America fights its wars, but civilians still die. As the U.S. wages war on terror, it might be easy to dismiss a few hundred innocent Afghans killed by mis-directed bombs or poor intelligence, but not if the ruined village was yours.
No doubt U.S. military commanders ARE careful to avoid collateral damage and unintended death, but the American bombing campaign in Afghanistan shows that despite the hype and promise of precision guided weapons, there’s no such thing as a clean war or a surgical attack. And some say America’s preference for air-strikes and it’s aversion to losing GI’s on the ground, imperils civilians, and compromises Americas moral credibility.
Protecting the innocent, and winning the war.
Guests:
Kenneth Allard, retired Army colonel and Professor of Military History at Georgetown University
Tom Keaney, former Air Force colonel, executive director of the Foreign Policy Institute at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University
Sarah Sewall, Harvard University’s Carr Center for Human Rights