Should US Accept Greater Risk of Civilian Casualties in IS Fight?

Washington’s reluctance to risk civilian casualties in the U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State terror group is again being questioned as Iraqi forces, with the support of American air power, try to wrest control of the Iraqi city of Ramadi from IS.

After weeks of fighting on Ramadi’s outskirts, Iraqi security forces crossed the Euphrates River on Tuesday and moved on the city center, trying to oust an estimated 250-300 Islamic State fighters.

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“If you don’t want to clear out buildings using bombs and destroy them that way, you’re going to have to do it on the ground. And guess what? Civilians are going to be killed with gunfire and in artillery attacks,” said Bill Roggio of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a research and education group in Washington. “You’re probably going to have a greater loss of Iraqi troops as well.

“What I think you have is the U.S. military and political leaders that are overly concerned about the optics more than the objective,” Roggio said.

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