The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S.: Retaliatory strikes in Iraq show restraint
Mideast’s top U.S. commander says U.S. so far hasn’t hit many sites due to risk of civilian casualties.
The U.S. retaliatory airstrikes against militants in Iraq destroyed five weapons depots, but the top U.S. commander for the Middle East acknowledged Friday that there are many similar sites that the U.S. has so far not hit because of potential civilian casualties and political sensitivities with the Iraqi government.
Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie said the U.S. decision to target the Iranian-backed Shiite militia group that killed American and British troops in a rocket attack this week sends a strong message to Iran and its proxies. But he said that as the threat of continued attacks remains high and tensions with Iran have not gone down, the U.S. is beefing up military assets.
“What should now be obvious to everyone is you’re not going to be able to fire those at a U.S. or coalition base, hurt or kill our people, and escape unscathed,” McKenzie told Pentagon reporters Friday. He said the U.S. has been aware of the weapons sites and knows where more are, but has exercised “restraint” in bombing them because in some cases strikes would kill “a lot” of civilians. He said the U.S. works with the Iraq military to take out the sites, but at times that doesn’t work.
Kataib Hezbollah, the group the U.S. blames for the Wednesday attack at Camp Taji base that killed two U.S. and one British service members and wounded 14 other personnel, has not commented on the strikes, but another Iranian-backed group has vowed revenge.
The tit-for-tat strikes potentially signal another cycle of violence between Washington and Tehran that could play out inside Iraq. And they threaten to hamper ongoing U.S. negotiations with the Iraqi government to keep American troops in the country.
In fact, Iraq’s military said three Iraqi army commandos and two federal police officers were killed in the U.S. strikes. And a Shiite endowment in the holy city of Karbala said one civilian in an airport complex being constructed by the endowment was also killed.
Asked about the Iraqi deaths, McKenzie said the U.S. talked with the Iraq military and they knew the U.S. attack was imminent.
“If Iraqis were there and Iraqi military forces were there, I would say it’s probably not a good idea to position yourself with Kataib Hezbollah in the wake of a strike that killed Americans and coalition members.”