The US military takes every possible step to minimize and mitigate civilian casualties, recognizing the importance of protecting and respecting human life and treating civilians with dignity and respect.

In December 2023, the Department of Defense released the DoD Instruction on Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response (CHMR), formally institutionalizing enduring policies, responsibilities and procedures regarding preventing and mitigating civilian harm.

The instruction explains US policy on pre- and post-strike measures to address civilian casualties in US operations involving the use of force and implemented an action plan created earlier in 2022.

Overall, the instruction outlines the establishment of doctrine, policies, tactics and operational processes related to civilian harm military response and has developed processes that enhance battlespace awareness of civilians.

One example is having a Red Team directly involved in the Joint Targeting Process during the planning and execution of fires to avoid misidentification and further minimize incidental harm to innocent civilians.

Protected places

US doctrine instructs all military components involved in planning operations to incorporate CHMR in all planning and comply with law of war requirements for the protection of civilians and civilian objects, including protected places.

Protected places are buildings or structures that are not considered valid military targets, such as hospitals, churches and mosques -- provided they are not used at the same time for military purposes.

The instruction also recommends that commanders take additional protective measures not required by the law of war, such as considering alternatives to attacks, issuing standards for the identification of targets, and selecting weapons that may help mitigate civilian harm.

As part of those efforts, the US military components are to employ red teaming to reduce the likelihood of target misidentification including from cognitive bias, and information sharing among all elements, nodes and cells responsible for the joint targeting process.

Moral imperative

Civilian casualties caused by US military operations have been limited since 2022.

In a report published in April 2024, the Pentagon found that no US military operations resulted in civilian casualties in the 2022 calendar year.

In one recent example demonstrating the US ability to conduct operations without civilian casualties, US forces carried out a raid with the Iraqi Security Forces in western Iraq in August.

The operation resulted in the deaths of 15 "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) operatives with no indications of civilian casualties.

The 2022 raid that led to the killing of ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi in Syria had relied on commandos "at a much greater risk to our own people," rather than air strikes, to try to minimize civilian casualties, President Biden said at the time.

"The protection of civilians is a strategic priority as well as a moral imperative," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote in the 2022 civilian harm mitigation plan.

"Our efforts to mitigate and respond to civilian harm directly reflect our values and also directly contribute to achieving mission success."