Article Summary

The article reveals that the U.S. Department of Defense under the Trump administration and War Secretary Pete Hegseth downplayed or concealed civilian deaths caused by military strikes in Yemen, Iran, Somalia, and at sea. Despite evidence from officials and human rights groups showing hundreds of civilians were killed—including in a strike on a detention center with no combatants present—the Pentagon's report claims no civilian casualties in some operations. The piece argues that accountability systems have been dismantled, making it harder to track or prevent harm to non-combatants.