The United States government set aside $5 million for the families of civilian casualties from the war on the Islamic State. There have been thousands of civilian casualties. So why has the money gone untouched?
Guest: Azmat Khan, an investigative reporter who spent the past year looking into civilian casualties in the war on the Islamic State. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.
Duration
22m
Broadcast on
29 Nov 2017
Audio Format
other
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The United States government set aside $5 million for the families of civilian casualties from the war on the Islamic State. There have been thousands of civilian casualties. So why has the money gone untouched?
Guest: Azmat Khan, an investigative reporter who spent the past year looking into civilian casualties in the war on the Islamic State. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
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This podcast is supported by the Capital One Venture X Card. Venture X offers the premium benefits you expect, like a $300 annual Capital One travel credit for less than you expect. Elevate your earn with unlimited double miles on every purchase, bringing you one step closer to your next dream destination. Plus, enjoy access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide. The Capital One Venture X Card, what's in your wallet? Terms apply, lounge access is subject to change. See CapitalOne.com for details. From the New York Times, I'm Michael Barbarro. This is The Daily. Today, a $5 million dollar pot of money that's gone untouched. Why the US government hasn't paid a single one of the families, of the thousands of civilian casualties from the war on ISIS. Why the US government hasn't paid a single one? It's Wednesday, November 29th. Thank you for seeing us, thank you. What's your name and who was injured? And where was he when the airstrike happened? Asmad Khan, you've been reporting in Iraq for the past year, and a couple of weeks ago, you published a big investigation on civilian casualties in the war on ISIS. Remind us of your findings. So the US-led coalition says that this is the most precise air campaign in the history of warfare. Wow, wow. They were killed in the same airstrike or in a different airstrike. Was there one strike or two how many? Of the 14,000 airstrikes that's carried out in Iraq, they say that only 0.6%, so less than 1% have resulted in a civilian death. So we set out on the ground to see if these numbers were in fact as precise as they claim. What we found in a sample of 103 airstrikes was that one in five coalition airstrikes, led by the United States, resulted in civilian death. That's 20%, 31 times higher than the 0.6%, the coalition claims. What you found essentially was that the United States has not acknowledged or may not even be aware of just how many civilians the US-led campaign against ISIS in Iraq has killed. Exactly. One thing cannot be returned is an also flag. Everything else could be redone or rebuilt. And as part of that investigation, you introduced us to Basim Razzo, an Iraqi who lost most of his family in one of these American-led airstrikes. A lot of flag is unreleased. Through your reporting, he gets a very rare meeting with the American military. We just wanted to start by accepting that. Not only we have to be honored, but also we have to myself. Exactly. He's the first person to be offered a payment for the death of a loved one in the entire anti-ISIS air war.
Transcription truncated.
The United States government set aside $5 million for the families of civilian casualties from the war on the Islamic State. There have been thousands of civilian casualties. So why has the money gone untouched?
Guest: Azmat Khan, an investigative reporter who spent the past year looking into civilian casualties in the war on the Islamic State. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.
