- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Just an 'Error'? Why Casualties of US Airstrikes Seem to 'Happen All the Time'

© Sputnik / Mikhail Alaeddin / Go to the mediabankDestroyed buildings of the Syrian Air Force school in Aleppo, Syria
Destroyed buildings of the Syrian Air Force school in Aleppo, Syria - Sputnik International
Subscribe
On Saturday, the US-led coalition conducted airstrikes on Syrian army units in Deir ez-Zor, killing 62 soldiers. The Pentagon claimed that the attack was unintentional.

F-16 - Sputnik International
This is Why US-Led Airstrike on Syrian Troops 'Unlikely to Have Been Accident'
“The US keeps getting away with this. They conduct their military operations so carelessly in relation to casualties among the civilian population, that these so-called mistakes happen all the time,” political analyst Viktor Olevich said in an interview with RT.

Talking about the attack on Syrian Deir ez-Zor on September, 17 which killed at least 62 soldiers of the government army, Victor Olevich said that the representatives of Damascus and Moscow have expressed doubts that this was done by mistake.

The Pentagon originally opposed the agreement with Russia on Syria and the agreement itself in the words of Secretary of State John Kerry, was rather shaky.

According to the expert a particular difficulty lies in the fact that Russia and the US have diametrically opposed goals in Syria.

“It is important for Russia to end the civil war, to ensure fair elections, in which the legitimately elected president, Bashar al-Assad will be able to take part and the Syrian people will decide their own destiny,” the analyst said.

However, the primary purpose of the United States is to overthrow the elected government of Assad. Washington wants to establish a leadership in Damascus which will follow in the footsteps of the American foreign policy, according to the analyst.

Therefore, to achieve comprehensive understanding between Moscow and Washington is pretty hard. “We see how quickly such an agreement can turn questionable. We are already seeing doubts on part of Russia on how far is the US actually ready to follow contracts signed by them.”

In addition, the US has so far refused to disclose the contents of all the agreements signed with Russia.

According to a political analyst from the Russian Friendship University, Yuri Pochta, “The United States argues that it is fighting the terrorists. But since the majority of media in most countries of the world, to some extent, are controlled by the Americans, it will be announced that the incident was a tragic error, they will say that investigation is ongoing and that’s all to it.”

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II - Sputnik International
Assad: US Coalition's Airstrikes on Syrian Army is Aggression Serving Daesh
In turn, the professor of historical sciences and an expert on the Middle East and Central Asia, Alexander Knyazev, believes that the casualties that happen at the hands of the US military are due to the fact that the US relies too much on technology and does not pay enough attention to training of its military personnel.

“In principle, all the military tactics of the US armed forces are designed for the use of technology and the role of the so-called human factor is quite low. The US shows a low level of training of its military personnel.”

Knyavez further said that, “Any error of equipment surveillance should be checked by people. This demonstrates the attitude of the American leadership to accidental casualties as a result of errors. In Afghanistan, there were many such errors. It shows the level of their [US] qualification,” the expert added.

In October 2015 the US Air Force shelled hospital organization “Doctors without Borders” in the Afghan Kunduz. As a result of an airstrike 42 people were killed. The Pentagon said that the airstrike on the hospital was not a war crime, but an error.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала