Rachel Bozalis - Recent US Airstrikes in Iraq have lead to many civilian deaths

Recently, a series of air attacks by the US in Mosul, Iraq have left many civilians dead. Mosul is the main stronghold of ISIS in Iraq, and the US has been fighting with Iraqi officials to regain control of the city since 2014 when it was taken over. ISIS has about 600,000 civilians trapped in the old city, which has narrow streets and crowded buildings, making it incredibly difficult to attack from the air. The US advocates strongly for zero civilian deaths, however this is not very important to ISIS, who commonly uses human shields and hides out in protected areas like schools and neighborhoods. On March 17, a truck filled with explosives, which was reportedly left by ISIS officials, was struck during an airstrike, killing around 200 civilians. Details like who detonated the truck and whether or not it was from the air are mostly unknown, as most of those who witnessed the attack are now dead. Regardless of who instigated the explosion, the US has decided to try to use different tactics to ensure that civilians are kept safe.

The war on terror in the middle east has created massive amounts of stress for all areas of the world, especially (obviously), the middle east. I love that the US values the citizens there and does their best to keep them safe and away from conflicts. That being said, the confusion on how the car was detonated makes them look very unorganized, as they are unable to provide any answer as to whether or not it was them. Regardless of what happened, I hope that this conflict ends soon and does not turn into another Cold War, where tension over communism lasted for almost forty years (1950s- 1990s) . In the US, many fear those of middle eastern descent, just as they feared communism during the red scare. People are quick to make assumptions, be they negative or positive, about others as soon as they see them. I hope that the negative stigma around those from the middle east is soon eradicated and people can once again feel safe, both here in the US and in the middle east.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/26/middleeast/iraq-mosul-us-airstrikes-civilians/index.html