© the Greenville Post
The most recent atrocity was the killing of as many as 200 Iraqi civilians from U.S. airstrikes this week in Mosul. That was preceded a few days earlier by the killing of dozens of Syrian civilians in Raqqa province when the U.S. targeted a school where people had taken refuge, which itself was preceded a week earlier by the U.S. destruction of a mosque near Aleppo that also killed dozens. And one of Trump's first military actions was what can only be described as a massacre carried out by Navy SEALs, in which 30 Yemenis were killed; among the children killed was an 8-year-old American girl (whose 16-year-old American brother was killed by a drone under Obama).
Comment: It is extremely dubious that the Obama civilian casualties count is real and verifiable. This administration was known for its across-the-board fudging of numbers, be it military, financial, etc. Human Rights organizations have repeatedly reported watered down "official accountings." A comparison between Trump and Obama should remain inconclusive.
In sum: Although precise numbers are difficult to obtain, there seems little question that the number of civilians being killed by the U.S. in Iraq and Syria — already quite high under Obama — has increased precipitously during the first two months of the Trump administration. Data compiled by the site Airwars tells the story: The number of civilians killed in Syria and Iraq began increasing in October under Obama but has now skyrocketed in March under Trump.
Comment: Some say collateral damage is endemic to modern warfare...to quit leaves power vacuums that could be even worse...evidential charts are subject to reports that are subject to information that are subject to who is collecting that is subject to intent...and so on. This is not a simple black and white issue, nor is the way forward, so far, much clearer with Trump than it was with Obama in a climate they both inherited from GWB. At least Trump has broken 'tradition' and promised to not be an interventionist, short circuiting the deliverance of additional hegemonic chaos via more destabilization and new wars. But do we need terror to fight terror that sacrifices civilians? Are there other options? Or is this an unavoidable deep black pit, at humanity's expense, with no way out -- especially if it remains a lucrative and budget-saving exercise.