Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) and thus the senior operational commander in the war against Iran, gave testimony before a Senate committee last week that insulted truth and reality. Cooper contended that apart from the destruction of one Iranian school, he was not aware of any civilian casualty incidents in Iran. Prevention of civilian deaths is “a matter that I’m passionate about,” declared Cooper. According to the admiral, his command has a near-perfect record in avoiding such civilian harm in an offensive that has involved more than 13,600 strikes.
This assertion is grossly at odds with facts about the war in Iran that human rights organizations have compiled and news media have reported. Airwars, a British organization that investigates civilian casualties in wars, has recorded at least 300 incidents so far that have involved civilian casualties. As of early April, the Human Rights Activists News Agency had counted 1,701 civilian deaths in Iran, including at least 254 children. The New York Times independently investigated and verified damage to 22 schools and 17 health care facilities, which is only a fraction of the 763 schools and 316 medical facilities that the Iranian Red Crescent Society reports being damaged or destroyed during the war. Läs artikel