Congressional Democrats seeking accountability for civilian deaths caused by the U.S. military announced two bills Thursday to overhaul the Pentagon’s methods for investigating and preventing civilian harm.
The two pieces of legislation — the Department of Defense Civilian Harm Transparency Act and the Protection of Civilians in Military Operations Act — would expand requirements for reporting the incidents and disclosing them to the public as well as move investigations out of the units responsible for the strikes.
“The evidence is clear: after 20 years of mostly unfulfilled pledges on preventing civilian harm, the Pentagon has shown that it needs the involvement of others outside the chain of command in setting policy and ensuring accountability,” said Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., a co-sponsor of both bills. “It is time to provide additional oversight through interagency partners and these bills do just that.”
Some lawmakers stepped up calls for reform after a botched drone strike killed 10 civilians during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last year. The Pentagon said the strike was necessary to prevent an attack on U.S. troops but later acknowledged it was a tragic mistake.