Gourt > Society > Issues > Warfare and Conflict > Specific Conflicts > Afghanistan Civil War > US Intervention > Civilian Casualties
Civilian casualties is a military term describing civilian or non-combatant persons killed or injured by military action. The description of civilian casualties includes any form of military action regardless of whether civilians were targeted directly. This differs from the description of collateral damage that only applies to unintentional effects of military action including unintended casualties.
Civilian casualties therefore include victims of atrocities such as the Rape of Nanking committed on a civilian population where hundreds of thousands of men were slaughtered, while girls and women ages ranging from 10 to 70 were systematically raped or killed by Japanese soldiers during World War II. Another example is the My Lai Massacre (Vietnamese: thảm sát Mỹ Lai) that was committed by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War on hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mostly women and children. Such military action, which has the sole purpose of inflicting civilian casualties is illegal under modern rules of war, and may be considered a war crime or crime against humanity.
Other kinds of civilian casualties may involve the targeting of civilian populations for military purposes, such as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed over 100,000 civilians. The legality of such action was at the time governed by international law found in the Hague Regulations on Land Warfare of 1907, which state "the attack or bombardment, by whatever means, of towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are undefended is prohibited".Also relevant, were the Hague Draft Rules of Air Warfare of 1922–1923, which state "air bombardment is legitimate only when is directed against a military objective". *" target="_blank" >The Rome Statute defines "intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population" to be illegal, but only came into effect on July 1, 2002 and has not been ratified by every country.[http://www.un.org/law/icc/statute/romefra.htm
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War on Terrorism :: Specific Conflicts
Co-worker who had 2 bean burritos for lunch is in bathroom. Any civilian bathroom casualties should report Black Hawk Down!
al999 (albert c) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:11:15 -0000
Co-worker who had 2 bean burritos for lunch is in bathroom. Any civilian bathroom casualties should report Black Hawk Down!
Finally, UN to cease a military operation which created catastrophic civilian casualties in the name of pursuing FDLR : http://bit.ly/5iEGLF
thakuraine (Vijaya Thakur) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:47:39 -0000
Finally, UN to cease a military operation which created catastrophic civilian casualties in the name of pursuing FDLR : http://bit.ly/5iEGLF
UN-Backed Goons Cause More Civilian Casualties Than Damage to Rebels in Congo http://viigo.im/1NAc
Speedy1998 (Chris) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:48:35 -0000
UN-Backed Goons Cause More Civilian Casualties Than Damage to Rebels in Congo http://viigo.im/1NAc
added 1 more proof to casualties-database - no. 312 civilian-policeman
ptwatch (PTWatch) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:03:32 -0000
added 1 more proof to casualties-database - no. 312 civilian-policeman
RT @LeCombat: UN-Backed Goons Cause More Civilian Casualties Than Damage to Rebels in Congo http://bit.ly/4HOSha #corruptUN
midnightliberty (Midnight Liberty) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:00:16 -0000
RT @LeCombat: UN-Backed Goons Cause More Civilian Casualties Than Damage to Rebels in Congo http://bit.ly/4HOSha #corruptUN
RT @LeCombat: UN-Backed Goons Cause More Civilian Casualties Than Damage to Rebels in Congo http://bit.ly/4HOSha #corruptUN
jimmiebjr (Jimmie) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:58:09 -0000
RT @LeCombat: UN-Backed Goons Cause More Civilian Casualties Than Damage to Rebels in Congo http://bit.ly/4HOSha #corruptUN
Expecting Taliban, but Finding Only Horror - A New York Times detailed report on the bombing of four villages in Oruzgan Province on July 1, 2002. [Free registration required].
Fatally Flawed: Cluster Bombs and their Use by the U.S. In Afghanistan - A report by Human Rights Watch. Includes photographs and maps.
Flaws in U.S. Air War Left Hundreds of Civilians Dead - Discusses the relation between US strategy and number of civilian casualties. Includes slideshow and map. From the New York Times. [Free registration required].
Forgotten Victims - Jonathan Steele summarizes estimations on the number of casualties, and discusses the effect of the US air strikes on humanitarian help. The Guardian, UK.
Marc Herold: Counting the Dead - A summary and comparison of the existing statistics on Afghan civilian casualties. The Guardian, UK.
Operation Enduring Freedom: Why a Higher Rate of Civilian Casualties? - A report on the war in Afghanistan that examines civilian deaths from bombing and tries to explain why the rate of casualties is higher than in the 1999 Balkans war. Written by Carl Conetta for the Project on Defense Alternatives.
Meta Description: [ Examines the extent and causes of civilian bombing casualties in the Afghanistan war. Compares the experience of Operation Enduring Freedom with that of Operation Allied Force in the Balkans. ]
Shocked Afghans Criticize U.S. Strike - The Afghan government expressed dismay at reports that about 140 civilians were killed or wounded in an American-led operation in southern Afghanistan and demanded a major review of American military operations. From the New York Times. [Free registration required].
The Innocent Dead in a Coward's War - Seumas Milne reports in The Guardian on an American economist's estimate that US bombs have killed at least 3,767 civilians.
Who Will Count the Dead? - A report on the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, by Marc W. Herold. With a dossier and a daily chart of civilian casualties.
Why Do They Use Bombs? Grieving Afghans Demand Answers - Halima Kazem reports on the life of Afghan victims of US bombings. EurasiaNet.
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