From The RAND Corporation, March 31, 2022:
The battle for Raqqa, Syria, seemed like a perfect storm of strategic and operational challenges. When the city was finally liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in October 2017, 60 to 80 percent of it was estimated to be uninhabitable. In fact, the battle for Raqqa is a cautionary tale about civilian harm in 21st-century conflicts.
The purpose of this report is to discuss how the U.S. military — which is the best-trained and most technologically advanced military in the world, is supported in Operation Inherent Resolve by an international coalition of more than 80 countries, and was partnered in Raqqa with a well-respected militia force on the ground — could cause significant civilian harm despite a deeply ingrained commitment to the law of war.
In this report, RAND researchers study the causes of civilian harm in Raqqa and provide insights into how the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) can reduce civilian harm in future operations.
Key Findings
- U.S. strategic choices, such as the encirclement of Raqqa, likely increased civilian harm.
- The coalition made considerable efforts to protect civilian life, but there remains room for improvement.
- Civilian casualties in Raqqa were not as high as one might predict, given the high levels of structural damage.
- ISIS's defensive tactics deliberately put civilians in harm's way.
- Extensive structural damage in Raqqa undermined post-battle governing prospects and long-term U.S. interests.
- Airpower was not used to shape the battlefield in Raqqa, which made civilian-harm mitigation more difficult.
- Restrictions on U.S. ground forces made preventing civilian harm more difficult.
- Irregular partner forces were less precise than U.S. forces would be and increased the risk of civilian harm.
- A lack of sources to provide better local information impeded civilian-harm mitigation efforts.
- Flawed DoD processes and poor collection of civilian casualty data hindered the military's ability to assess and analyze civilian harm in Raqqa....
....MUCH MORE, including download options to read the report.
The Americans destroyed some 11,000 buildings in Raqqa.
The Iraqi, American, European Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve in Mosul Iraq:
It looks flatter than Hiroshima.
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