Balgarianovinite.com
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) grilled U.S. Air Force General and Commander of the United States European Command, Alexus Grynkewich, over how the U.S. military ended up bombing a girls’ school in Iran and killing a reported 170 children on Thursday.
“We have seen horrific reports of a U.S. missile hitting a girls school in Iran,” said Gillibrand during a hearing with Grynkewich in the Senate:
I recognize you are at CENTCOM and this is not your AOR, but can you speak to the process that you at least have at EUCOM for developing targets, what types of protections you have? Based on what I have heard from reporting, the data that was looked at was a decade old. That any person who can get satellite access to Google Maps today can see that this was a school. The New York Times had no problem getting that data and information for a report today. What do you intend to do at EUCOM to make sure your targeting is consistent with American values?
The EUCOM commander replied:
Over the course of my career as a fighter pilot, I have always done everything I can to avoid civilian harm, civilian casualties, and I will tell you I’m absolutely committed to that. I know the department is committed to that and that when tragedies like this happen, it causes us all to reflect and try to improve our processes. I’ve been involved in the targeting process, both on the tactical and the operational levels throughout my career, and I will tell you we do have a number of safeguards in the system. You know, every single time that at a tactical level I was going to release a weapon on a target, I was personally making an assessment as to whether there was any chance of civilian harm and, if there was, was that proportional to the military necessity of striking the target.
He declared, “Just know, I am absolutely committed to trying to mitigate that risk.”
“I appreciate your testimony. I am highly concerned, however, that Secretary Hegseth does not agree with you,” shot back Gillibrand. “Secretary Hegseth has criticized rules of engagement designed to adhere to the laws of armed conflict and support civilian harm mitigation. Secretary Hegseth has also cut the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence by about 90%. Their mission was to help you and to help protect against civilian casualties.”
She questioned, “So how do these changes by Secretary Hegseth affect your mission, your judgment, and the responsibility you take so seriously?”
“Senator, they have not affected my ability to prevent civilian harm in any way,” insisted Grynkewich. “It’s embedded in the targeting process, it’s embedded in the culture of U.S. European Command, and I would say in the culture of the U.S. Military to try to avoid that civilian harm. So we’re continuing to do the things that we have always done to comply with the law of armed conflict and ensure that we mitigate that risk.”
The senator then asked bluntly, “Can you guess how we could have gotten this wrong in Iran and targeted a children’s school?”
“Ma’am, I would hesitate to speculate with any incident like this,” Grynkewich replied. “I would just say there’s usually a chain of errors and mistakes that happen similar to an aviation accident or some other transportation accident, and I would say we just need to let the investigation play out and find all those factors.”
The Pentagon admitted responsibility this week after one of its Tomahawk missiles hit a girls’ elementary school in Iran, reportedly killing 170 children.
According to a report from the New York Times, the bombing was the result of old and inaccurate data that had claimed the school building was part of an Iranian military base.
Before the Pentagon took responsibility for the strike, President Donald Trump falsely accused Iran of bombing its own school.
“In my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” said Trump incorrectly, while Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed, “The only side that targets civilians is Iran.”
Watch above via C-SPAN.
The post Kirsten Gillibrand Grills U.S. Military Commander Over Why They ‘Targeted a Children’s School’ in Iran, Killing 170 Kids first appeared on Mediaite.
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