Trump Administration Dismantled Pentagon Civilian Protection Initiatives Before Iran Conflict
The Trump administration reportedly gutted a series of Pentagon initiatives designed to reduce civilian casualties in military operations prior to the outbreak of the Iran war, according to a new investigation. This move has come under intense scrutiny following a February 28 missile strike that hit a girls' primary school in the Iranian city of Minab, killing more than 165 people, most of them children under 12 years old.
Scaling Back Civilian Harm Mitigation Efforts
Former officials have revealed to ProPublica that the Trump administration scaled back the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response (CHMR) plan by approximately 90 percent. This Biden-era initiative, implemented in 2022, worked to integrate comprehensive planning, civilian mapping, and thorough after-action investigations across all U.S. military commands. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reoriented military strategy around maximum "lethality" and a "warrior ethos," while reportedly lowering authorization levels needed for lethal force and broadening target categories.
"We're departing from the rules and norms that we've tried to establish as a global community since at least World War II," said Air Force veteran Wes J. Bryant, a former member of the Pentagon's Civilian Protection Center of Excellence who was forced out in job cuts last spring. "There's zero accountability."
Deadly School Strike Under Investigation
The Minab school attack, which appeared to use an American Tomahawk missile, represents potentially the deadliest U.S. military attack on civilians in decades. An internal Pentagon probe reportedly found that outdated U.S. targeting data caused American forces to hit the educational facility. President Trump has suggested Iran or "somebody else" might be responsible for the attack, and when asked about the report on Wednesday, stated he didn't know about it.
If confirmed as a U.S. operation, this tragedy would represent the exact type of incident officials had been working to prevent through the CHMR plan. Critics of such civilian protection measures argued that the U.S. already integrated the laws of war into its planning, and that additional review steps hampered battlefield effectiveness.
Defense Department Faces Criticism Over Policy Changes
"The Defense Department has defunded critically important civilian protection functions at a time when they are desperately needed," said Annie Shiel, director of U.S. advocacy at the Center for Civilians in Conflict. "The policies are still in place. But they don't have the resources or top-cover to implement them to their fullest extent, and that is very concerning. Ultimately, it's civilians who pay the price."
Defense Secretary Hegseth, who frequently championed U.S. troops accused of war crimes during his time as a Fox News commentator, insisted this week that "no nation takes more precautions" than the U.S. to protect civilians in war zones. Simultaneously, he criticized what he called "overbearing" rules of engagement.
"We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country," Hegseth declared at a Tuesday press conference. "No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for warfighters."
Increased Military Strikes Under Trump Administration
The Trump administration has significantly increased boundary-pushing attacks compared to previous administrations. President Trump has already overseen more air strikes during his current term than President Biden did throughout his entire presidency, according to analysis from The Telegraph. Notable incidents include:
- A "catastrophic" 2025 strike on an immigration detention center in Yemen that killed 61 detainees, according to Amnesty International
- A series of attacks on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean that critics describe as extrajudicial assassinations based on non-public evidence
- The Defense Department's refusal to release full unedited footage of a controversial "double tap" September boat strike that killed survivors of an initial barrage
While the Biden administration had its own concerning incidents, including a notorious 2021 strike in Afghanistan that killed an aid worker and nine family members, the Trump administration has dramatically escalated both the frequency and nature of military operations. Hegseth has also fired top military lawyers and inspectors general as part of his restructuring of defense priorities.
The administration maintains that attacks on drug boats are justified because the U.S. is in an armed conflict with drug trafficking organizations. However, critics allege these operations have killed civilians and operate without proper judicial oversight or transparency.
