A thread on targeting: Bottom line is there are many checks in the targeting cycle to ensure targets are lawful, necessary, can be struck in a lawful manner, do not unduly risk lives, and are the proper course of action for the requirement. 1/
In all the missions I was part of there was NEVER a thought to actively target sites that were on their face unlawful. It was against your oath, training, and immoral, let alone unlawful. I never saw reprisals. Ever. 2/
I was an intelligence officer in the position of military planner and targeter at DIA and on the Joint Staff from 1997-2003. I provided recommendations to military planners and policy makers for both contingency planning and operational planning, produced target lists, 3/
and planned hundreds of targets for operations Allied Force, Desert Fox, and Iraqi Freedom. I did both pre-planned and dynamic targeting. This thread is a look at how the work is done due to President Trump’s statement on targeting Iranian cultural sites which would 4/
violate the Hague and Geneva Conventions as well as US law. People have asked if military planners would give him a list of unlawful targets. This is my experience, and though dated, I hope instructive: 5/
First understand what I did and did not do. I recommended options and targets. I did not make decisions. I did not launch missiles or drop bombs. I was also part of a team. Military planning and targeting are iterative processes involving experts in the country, target set, 6/
lawyers, engineers, weaponeers, and many others. There are numerous checks within the system to ensure targets are lawful and civilians are spared. While it is not perfect everyone takes their work seriously. The idea anyone wants to carpet bomb a country is ludicrous. 7/
The job of the military planner is to provide options that satisfy the commander’s requirements. If they want to stop a force from communicating the planner will provide a list of targets that will accomplish that task. The JAG will review if the targets are lawful, 8/
a weaponeer may need to make changes to weapons to ensure civilians are spared – all this happens as a team effort. A protected place may have lost its protection but that is for the JAG to decide. That is not for the target shop to decide. 9/
I give you the best options, not necessarily every option. While a nuke may do the job that will not be in the COA provided to the decision maker as it is irresponsible. In this light the planners for the Iran strike should not have given killing Suleimani as an option. 10/
The commander says we need X to happen. The planner tells you how to get to X. The JAG tells you if X is lawful. If it is not it returns to the planners – full stop. If the COA is lawful it will go through a collateral damage assessment, weaponeering, 11/
and eventually will end up on the JTL – the Joint Target List – which tells you what will be hit when by whom with what. After the strike there will be a battle damage assessment (BDA) to determine if the strike was successful. 12/
There are no-strike lists that require high level authorization to consider. These are protected places like hospitals, religious and cultural sites. For a protected place to even get on a JTL it first must be taken off the no-strike list, and that is not easy. 13/
If you have a high collateral damage target it needs to be brought lower through weaponeering, a waiver from on high, or it will be removed. In OIF we had 30 high CD targets and we had to go to President Bush and SECDEF Rumsfeld for authorization. Not all passed muster. 14/
President Trump suggested an unlawful COA in targeting Iranian cultural sites. There are caring moral professionals that will hold themselves to the highest standards in providing decision makers with lawful options. They must also hold him in check. Anything less is un-American.
