Letter to the Editor by Sarah Holewinski Thomas E. Ricks was exactly right in his Oct. 27 Sunday Opinion column, “Can the military learn from its mistakes?”: Military introspection is falling short. I see this starkly in the issue of civilian harm in combat. Anger at civilian casualties in Afghanistan caused U.S. commanders to make…
Arifa had lost nearly everything when Marla Ruzicka walked through the door and into her life. The American intervention in Afghanistan had started just weeks before. A US bomb missed its target by three miles and landed instead on Arifa’s home, leaving her a widow at the age of 30. She buried her husband, eldest…
Syria has indicated that it will give up chemical weapons and may even sign the chemical weapons convention, but the war with conventional weapons in Syria continues with no end in sight. On the day the Syrian government signaled a willingness to hear proposals for transferring its chemical weapons stockpiles to the international community, it…
By Catherine Cheney, World Politics Review This article was reprinted with the permission of World Politics Review, where it was originally published. The United Nations reported last week that the number of refugees from Syria has now surpassed 2 million, even while more than twice that many people are internally displaced. Combined, the numbers of refugees…
Originally published in Rolling Stone As U.S. drones continue to rain Hellfire missiles down from the Yemen sky, another region of the world is undergoing a transition that could have a significant impact on how America approaches its counter-terrorism policies in the coming years. The citizens of Mali elected ex-Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita as…
Today representatives of Syrian civil society released the “Syrian Transition Roadmap.”This 238-page document presents plans for constitutional, judicial, political, and security sector reforms, and transitional justice goals, including prosecutions for crimes and compensation to victims. The roadmap rightly advocates for compensation both moral (apologies and memorials) and physical (money or material goods) for harm suffered…
AOAV caught up with Sarah Holewinski, Executive Director of the Center for Civilians in Conflict, to talk about her organisation’s work and the importance of documenting civilian harm. Source: In focus: Sarah Holewinski on her work at the Center for Civilians in Conflict | AOAV
A study conducted by a US military adviser has found that drone strikes in Afghanistan during a year of the protracted conflict caused 10 times more civilian casualties than strikes by manned fighter aircraft. The new study, referred to in an official US military journal, contradicts claims by US officials that the robotic planes are…
In 2011, at least 526,000 people died violent deaths around the world. Over three-quarters of these occurred in non-conflict settings. A wide range of people around the globe are working to change this depressing reality. But who are these men and women who have dedicated their lives to making the world a safer place? Members of…