







A damning Department of War report finds that the Pentagon didn’t fully implement any required civilian harm mitigation measures.
Hegseth Brags of a Deadlier War Machine as U.S. Unleashes “Devastating Civilian Harm Globally”
While testifying to Congress on Wednesday, War Secretary Pete Hegseth lobbed threats and brushed off queries about civilian harm.

Trump DoD Axed a Program Meant to Limit Civilian Casualties — ProPublica
The Pentagon dismantled its civilian protection mission as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made “lethality” a top priority and the Trump administration reorganized national security around two principles: more aggression, less accountability.

Preliminary Pentagon Findings Betray Trump's Outrageous Lies About Iranian School Massacre | Common Dreams
Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth "should be potentially charged and prosecuted for war crimes," said the advocacy group Just Foreign Policy.


Pentagon quietly shut legally required program to prevent civilian deaths by military, watchdog finds
Trump administration accused of cutting military’s civilian harm program in light of US strike on girls’ school in Iran

Senators grilled Hegseth on Iran. Here are 3 big moments from the hearing
Hegseth said at the top of the hearing that the supplemental funding was an “urgent, necessary injection of resources” for the department’s needs. He didn’t directly mention the Iran war in his opening statement.

Trump and Hegseth use 9/11 memorial remarks at Pentagon to defend war on Iran
President and defense secretary try to link worst terrorist attack in US history to current unpopular war

Pentagon Erupts Over Report on Classified Warnings Against Iran War
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s top advisers have warned against extending the Iran war.


Hegseth’s War On Anthropic Encounters The First Amendment
The expression, “to make a federal case out of something” usually describes making a bigger deal out of something than it should be. But in the case of Anthropic and Hegseth, Trump, and the Departm…

Army survivors of deadly attack in Kuwait dispute Pentagon's account, say unit "was unprepared" to defend itself
Survivors of an Iranian attack that killed six U.S. service members have disputed the Pentagon's description of events and said their unit in Kuwait was left dangerously exposed.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth is being an absolute crayon again
Hegseth may be the biggest crayon alive, and somehow America’s nuclear codes are in his hands — apparently, “bro-science” is policy now

Opportunities to Improve Military Policies and Practices to Reduce Civilian Harm From Explosive Weapons in Urban Conflict
This research paper seeks to contribute to further thinking and dialogue among States and their militaries that conduct operations in urbanized environments on what more can be done to reduce civilian harm by proposing practical measures in the form of options for consideration. UNIDIR seeks to enhance knowledge on ways to reduce risks and mitigate harm to civilians from the effects of explosive weapons in urbanized environments. This research frames the issue of explosive weapons in the broader context of protection of civilians in urban conflict and focuses on multilateral operations. The research takes a comprehensive approach to civilian protection from a ‘risk reduction’ perspective—that is, seeking to understand where the risks and uncertainties lie in the entire ‘civilian protection life cycle’, recognizing that civilian harm is the cumulative effect of numerous risks and decisions made from formulating mandates, planning, execution, assessment and response to lessons learned and institutional learning. Particular focus is placed on the targeting and weaponeering processes. Citation: Roger Lane, Larry Lewis and Himayu Shiotani (2019) "Opportunities to Improve Military Policies and Practices to Reduce Civilian Harm From Explosive Weapons in Urban Conflict", UNIDIR, Geneva, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.37559/CAAP/19/PACAV/11 TRANSLATIONS To read the report in French, click here.

The Civilian Impact of Drones: Unexamined Costs, Unanswered Questions | Center for Civilians in Conflict
This joint report from the Center for Civilians in Conflict and Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Clinic is an in-depth look at the US government’s covert drone program and its impact on civilian populations. Our objective is to critically assess US government procedures and standards for ensuring civilian protection and responding to civilian harm from…

US used 'Claude' to strike over 1000 targets in first 24 hours of war
Despite a spat and Pentagon ban, Anthropic’s ‘AI is being used in the kill chain while Hegseth says ‘no stupid rules of engagement’

Pentagon secretly installs military influencers in civilian roles
Conservative veterans with large social media followings have been hired by the Defense Department and are amplifying Pete Hegseth’s culture-war fights.