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Fact Sheet: U.S. Military Efforts to Avoid Civilian Casualties |
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(Source : US State Department ; issued Oct. 25, 2001)
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 Editor's Note:
The U.S. State Department on Oct. 25 issued a fact sheet detailing U.S. efforts to avoid civilian casualties during the air strikes on Afghanistan. The text of this fact sheet is reproduced at bottom.
To put the fact sheet into perspective, we reproduce an extract from an Oct. 25 briefing by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The full transcript is available online at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Oct2001/t10252001_t1025rum.html
Begin Transcript:
Q: General Myers, are you using cluster bombs quite a bit, like combined-effects munitions and that sort of weapon?
Myers: As we said before, we're going to use the entire spectrum of our conventional weaponry. And, Tony, yes, we have used cluster-bomb units.
(…/…)
Q: General Myers, the international community has expressed concern about the use of cluster bombs because it is resulting in thousands of unexploded cluster munitions across Afghanistan. To what extent are you sensitive to that situation, and secondly, can you confirm whether Russia is supplying tanks to the Northern Alliance?
Myers: On the latter, I can't confirm that. On the former, Jamie, it goes back to the basic issue of targeteering and weaponeering the particular target. We take great pains to do that. And we only use the cluster munitions when they are the most effective weapon for the intended target. There have not been a great number of them used, but they have been used.
(…/…)
Q: The United Nations reported the other day -- just yesterday that there's a village in western Afghanistan where there are hundreds of people trapped in their homes because of unexploded U.S. cluster bombs in the village. And this was the United Nations quoting people who had just come out. Can you talk about that particular instance?
Myers: No, I can't talk about that specifically. I've not heard that before. But it would be like other alleged incidents: you have to find out what the ground truth is, and we will do that.
End Transcript
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