Irreversible Damage: Civilian Harm in Modern Conflict
Channel: United States Institute of Peace
Date: 08/06/2016

Irreversible Damage: Civilian Harm in Modern Conflict

How U.S. and Allied Forces Undermine Their Missions by Hurting Civilians—and How to Change That

United States forces and their allies abroad have underestimated the irreversible damage done to their missions when they kill or harm civilians, says a new report by combat veteran and strategist Christopher Kolenda and human rights researcher Rachel Reid. Yet military forces can make changes to dramatically reduce civilian casualties—and did so in Afghanistan—without undermining their own force protection or ceding military advantage. Tragically, this hard-won lesson is often lost, as in the disastrous U.S. airstrike on an Afghan hospital that killed 42 people in October. On June 8, join the report’s authors, with former Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy, for a discussion at USIP of their findings.

For more information about this event, visit: http://www.usip.org/events/irreversible-damage-civilian-harm-in-modern-conflict 

Join the conversation on Twitter with #ProtectingCivilians.

Michèle A. Flournoy, Moderator
Co-Founder and CEO, Center for a New American Security 

Christopher Kolenda
Senior Military Fellow, King’s College, London
President and CEO, Kolenda Strategic Leadership 

Rachel Reid
Advocacy Director for Middle East, North Africa, Southwest Asia, Open Society Foundations 

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