World roundup: May 27 2022

Stories from Iran, the Solomon Islands, Colombia, and more

As I said yesterday I’m going to take a couple of days off over the Memorial Day weekend. Tomorrow’s Week in Review will be sent out as usual but the roundups will be back on Tuesday.

INTERNATIONAL

In today’s global news:

• Worldometer is tracking COVID-19 cases and fatalities.

• The New York Times is tracking global vaccine distribution.

MIDDLE EAST

SYRIA

At Inkstick, the Center for Civilians in Conflict’s Annie Shiel discusses what went wrong with the US military’s internal investigation into its now infamous 2019 airstrike in Baghuz:

Last week, the Pentagon released a two-page summary outlining the conclusions of its review of a US airstrike in Baghuz, Syria, in 2019 that reportedly killed dozens of civilians. The review ultimately found no wrongdoing and recommended no disciplinary action, illustrating systemic shortcomings in how the US military prevents, investigates, and transparently responds to civilian harm.

Civilian casualties from the devastating strike were first reported by local sources and later investigated by the New York Times, whose Pulitzer prize-winning investigation revealed that the strike was flagged as a possible war crime and concealed at multiple levels. Additional Times reporting also found that the same special operations cell responsible for the Baghuz strike repeatedly sidestepped safeguards and killed civilians throughout the counter-ISIS campaign.

Despite these reports, the Pentagon’s investigation into the Baghuz strike found that though the US military’s initial investigation of the attack was mishandled, there was no wrongdoing nor need for disciplinary action. According to the New York Times, the review also disputed the Times’ initial investigation, finding that “most of the people killed in the strike…were probably Islamic State fighters.” But were they? More importantly, why doesn’t the US military have a definite answer? And why won’t the Pentagon provide basic information about its methods and findings to the public?