Source: CCTV news client
Recently, U.S. drone operator Jack Murphy disclosed to the media videos of U.S. drones on missions in Afghanistan, which recorded the scene of multiple U.S. drone strikes in 2019 that led to the deaths of innocent Afghan civilians.
In these videos, Afghan civilians who have been attacked by drones can be seen, including women and children. Murphy said the death toll of Afghan civilians caused by U.S. airstrikes far exceeded the figures released by the U.S. government, and that the airstrikes were carried out purely as "killing for the sake of killing." On his social media, Murphy said, "Afghans are fatal targets just because they use or have access to radio equipment, and if the drone operator thinks he's seen an antenna on a human body, or a tactical vest, the Defense Department will order the killing."
Another U.S. drone operator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was traumatized by a manslaughter in 2019. The drone targeted an Afghan who was using a radio, and just as they were carrying out the airstrike, a motorcycle carrying two adults and a child also drove to the attack site, killing three people on the spot. However, the U.S. Department of Defense's records for the day only mentioned that the airstrike killed 1 civilian.
According to data released by the U.S. Department of Defense in 2020, the United States carried out fewer than 1,000 airstrikes in Afghanistan in 2015, and by 2019, that number had increased more than sixfold to 7,423. In 2020, Brown University in the United States released a report pointing out that since 2017, the United States relaxed the rules of engagement for airstrikes in Afghanistan, significantly expanded the scale of airstrikes, and tried to put pressure on the Taliban, resulting in a surge in Afghan civilians who died in airstrikes by the US military and its allies. The United States has even acknowledged that harming Afghan civilians is part of its military strategy. In response, Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, has said, "If we don't stop killing civilians, we will lose this damn war." ”