General Michael Garrett of the Land Forces, on the instruction of Defense Minister Lloyd Austin, in the airstrike he carried out in Baguz on March 18, 2019, on the pretext of supporting the YPG/PKK terrorist organization, which uses the name SDG of the USA, which emerged in January and caused controversy in the USA. completed its investigation of civilian casualties. In his report, Garrett claimed that the attack was carried out in accordance with the rules of engagement and no violations of the laws of war were detected. The US general stated that the commander in charge of the operation “received confirmations repeatedly that there were no civilians in the attack area”, and then he gave permission for the air strike.
However, in his report, General Garrett noted that the initial investigation into the attack was not carried out with due diligence and the reports were not delivered in a timely manner, adding that “There is no evidence to support the claim that these omissions were malicious or were made to hide decisions or certain actions.”
Commenting on the investigation, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said, “I am disappointed to learn that some aspects of the initial investigation into the incident were missing, that deadlines were met, there was a lack of information that prevented full assessments, and the case was left open for months.” found its assessment. Pentagon Spokesperson: At least we’re talking about it The investigation regarding the Baguz attack was also on the agenda at the daily press conference at the Pentagon. Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby, when asked why many journalists were not punished for the attack in which more than 80 people were killed, said, “At least, we go here and talk about civilian casualties. You won’t hear this from the Russian Ministry of Defense. At least we answer your questions. We share a report on civilian casualties.” said.
AA correspondent said, “Every time we talk about this attack, you compare Russia’s approach to civilian casualties with that of the United States. We are talking about the fact that Russia’s attack on a building with children and civilians in Mariupol could be a war crime, but we saw that women and children died here too. Yes, you come out here and talk about the attack in a transparent manner, but this does not change the fact that the USA also killed dozens of women and children. Why do you compare yourself with Russia and try to legitimize what they are doing?” The question made Kirby angry. Kirby claimed that they “did not try to justify anything” and admitted to killing civilians, that the attack was scrutinized by the appointment of a senior general, but no violations of the laws of war or inappropriate behavior in the decision-making process were detected. The spokesperson stated that the difference of the USA should be noted, that the USA speaks openly of its mistakes as a modern army and can talk about it throughout the day. “What’s the point of talking about this issue or preparing pages of reports all day long if there is no accountability?” Kirby replied: “We’re holding ourselves to account. We let you see everything. Has anyone been fired now because of this news? No, it’s not because we’re trying to protect our career personnel. General Garrett has taken this attack with a completely independent eye. So I can’t change the facts. I didn’t do the review. He did.” “And the Minister chose a completely independent general to do this review. He also came back and said there was no violation of the laws of war. There was no need to hold anyone personally responsible for what happened that day.” Kirby also said that they are sorry for the deceased and have apologized about it.
