ICYMI: At Hearing, Defense Policy Nominee Commits to Work More Closely with Civil Society to Respond to Civilian Harm
Chollet: “Ensuring that the United States military does whatever it can and has the capabilities it can to prevent civilian casualties is critical.”
Washington, D.C. – At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on the Department of Defense (DoD) to improve investigations into civilian harm by collaborating with civil society organizations on the ground.
In response to questions from Senator Warren, Derek Chollet, nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, agreed that “working with civil society organizations is absolutely critical” and committed to ensuring DoD works with them more closely when reviewing and responding to allegations of civilian casualties.
In July, Senator Warren, along with Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Representative Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, expressing concerns that a recent May 2023 U.S. airstrike in Syria may have killed a civilian. The lawmakers asked DoD to publicly release as much of their internal investigation into the airstrike as possible.
Hearing: To consider the nominations of: Honorable Derek H. Chollet to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Ms. Cara L. Abercrombie to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition
U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
September 28, 2023
Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chollet, Ms. Abercrombie, it is good to see you both here. Congratulations on your nomination. Welcome to your family and thank you very much for the many years that you've both put into public service.
When the U.S. military operations kill civilians, we damage our reputation and it becomes a national security liability. And that's why I worked with DoD to create the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence as part of a comprehensive plan to address this problem. The State Department is also enhancing oversight to make sure that U.S.-provided weapons don't contribute to civilian harm. This is progress, real progress, but there's still more that needs to be done.
In May, CENTCOM conducted a strike in Syria that may have resulted in the death of a farmer and a father of 10. It took a litany of press coverage to convince the Joint Special Operations Command to finally open up a civilian casualty credibility assessment report two weeks later. This approach is only one of the many instances where the public have come to doubt DoD’s credibility. Mr. Chollet do you agree that it is important for our investigations to be regarded as credible around the world?
Derek Chollet, Nominee to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy: Senator Warren, thank you for the question. Thank you for the time in your office the other day and your leadership on this issue, as we've discussed multiple times. Ensuring that the United States military does whatever it can and has the capabilities it can to prevent civilian casualties is critical. I believe the U.S. military is the most effective fighting force in the world in doing so, but whenever there are instances in which there may have been civilian casualties, it's important to have a credible investigation of that.
Senator Warren: Okay. A key way that these investigations could be improved, and the results more trusted by communities that were affected by casualties, is for DoD investigators to work with civil society organizations on the ground as they work to uncover what actually happened. When I visited Ukraine last month, I was impressed by how closely their military works with civil society organizations to prevent and respond to civilian casualties. It can help improve investigations and it can help save lives in the long run. Mr. Chollet, will you commit to ensuring that DoD works more closely with civil society organizations when reviewing and responding to allegations of civilian casualties?
Mr. Chollet: Senator Warren, thanks for the question. I know the Defense Department has revamped its efforts and tried to add some capability to understand the civilian casualty question whenever there is an instance with that that may have occurred, working with civil society organizations is absolutely critical. If confirmed, I will dig into this and work toward that objective.
Senator Warren: Okay. You know, in 2018, Joint Staff review found that 58% of acknowledged cases of civilian harm originated from civil society organizations and external investigations, more than half. And yet, too often DoD has seen outsiders as the enemy, rather than as the valuable resource that they can be.
It's clear that we still need more progress, that DoD needs to do more on engaging civil society and helping improve its credibility in this area. I am very glad to hear you say that you will take the lead in this because we're depending on you to get this right. Ultimately, this is good for America's military. This is good for our nation, and it helps us all around the world. Thank you very much, Mr. Chollet.
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