**NOTE:** This is **not** intended to be a politically biased question, only one where I want to be more informed about military tactics and the general guidelines surrounding combat. Thank you.
Is it actually possible for armies to reduce civilian casualties? Considering how effective weapons are (both missiles and chemical) and how dense civilian areas are, how do armies try to mitigate those casualties? What is the difference between an action that is considered a part of war or a war crime?
In: Technology
Yes they can. The first, and most basic step, are the rules of engagement. This is a strict guideline of conditions that need to be met before any lethal action can be taken. For example just because you know that an “enemy” is in a certain place it doesn’t mean you can drop a big bomb and call it a day. What if the enemy is inside a building full of innocent people? The rules of engagement basically lay out when you’re allowed to shoot someone and under what conditions and when you’re not allowed to. After that there are several cases where direct authorisation is required before action is taken. Before an airstrike or a missile is launched you need direct authorisation by someone higher up the chain who determines whether it is necessary and what the impact to civilians may be. Risk analysis is a big part and largely what may determine whether a precision strike weapon will be used or something that will just level an entire city block. Lastly, militaries can warn civilians about upcoming attacks and direct them to safe areas.
That’s all well and good in theory, but unfortunately in practice they’re much harder to actually apply effectively, and unfortunately a lot of the time people don’t simply care to. There is nothing easy about war and unfortunately cruelty is a big part of it. A lot of the times you’re pushed in a situation with no “right” solution, or people simply strike with extreme prejudice because they do not care about the effects of their actions and do not consider the people on the other side as humans, whether they’re combatants or innocent civilians.
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