Pentagon to evaluate special ops, war crimes of US army

ANKARA

Pentagon has announced that it will begin an independent inquiry into special operations and war crimes to evaluate American troops' accordance with the law overseas and reduce potential violations.

The announcement was made by the US Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General in a recent four-paragraph memo.

Noting that the evaluation is planned to begin in January, the office said: "The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) developed and implemented programs in accordance with DoD Law of War requirements to reduce potential law of war violations when conducting operations."

"We will also determine whether potential USCENTCOM and USSOCOM law of war violations were reported and reviewed in accordance with DoD policy," it continued, adding that the objective may be revised during the evaluation proceeds.

USCENTCOM and USSOCOM, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida; US Forces–Afghanistan; Combined Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve; and Joint Special Operations Command are among the forces which will go through an evaluation, according to the memorandum, however, the office said they may identify additional organizations and locations.

The move came more than a week after President Joe Biden assumed office as he continues to change his predecessor Donald Trump's policies.

Trump in late December announced a wave of pardons for American war criminals who were convicted of killing civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His executive clemency kept adding controversial military figures after he pardoned four employees of an American private military company who killed civilians in Iraq and were found guilty by a US court in 2014.

Employees of Blackwater Security Consulting, now known as Academi, shot at Iraqi civilians, killing 17 and injuring 20 in Nisour Square, Baghdad on Sept. 16, 2007 as they were escorting a US embassy convoy.

The incident caused five investigations. The FBI found that at least 14 of the 17 Iraqis killed were shot without any cause, including 9- and 11-year-old boys.

Thirty witnesses from Iraq, the largest group of foreign witnesses to travel to the US for a criminal trial, had described in the court that the four American men initiated unprovoked shooting at Iraqi civilians with heavy gunfire and grenade launchers.