Rights organizations are urging Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to authorize condolence payments to families of civilians killed or injured by U.S. military operations overseas, an eleventh-hour test of the Biden administration’s promise to improve America’s handling of unintended battlefield casualties.
Advocates, who appealed for action in a recent letter to Austin, say that survivors have waited for years after filing payment claims over errant counterterrorism operations in nations including Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Yemen.
“They lost homes, limbs and loved ones,” said Joanna Naples-Mitchell, director of the redress program at the Zomia Center, which represents a group of affected families. In some cases, she added, flawed airstrikes have deprived victims of the family’s sole breadwinner; in others, survivors are left with lasting disabilities or chronic medical needs.
President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to replace Austin, Pete Hegseth, has advocated for “more lethality, less lawyers” in military operations, In their Oct. 31 letter to Austin, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, the groups asked for immediate action, at a minimum, on a relatively small number of outstanding cases in which the Department of Defense has confirmed civilians were injured or killed; there is an outstanding request for payment from the victim or their family; and the family is reachable through civil society representatives.
