This diary completes a series regarding the significance of the constant infliction of civilian casualties by American and other Western forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I chronicle the functioning of the Pentagon machinery of denial and obfuscation that kicks in after every instance of a mass civilian casualty attack that attracts Western media attention. I also attempt to make clear that when civilian casualties are anticipated, planned for, and when entire departments exist to spin them away, then they can no longer be described away as "accidental." These casualties constitute an inevitable and planned for result of American policy.
The truth is that thousands of civilian casualties a year from American actions may be regrettable but do not rise to the level of negative consequence necessary to motivate the Pentagon to change its tactics, or to motivate the Obama Administration to alter its strategy, or to motivate the American public to put any pressure on its leadership to change its policy. As such, they must be viewed as an accepted consequence of American actions, and anyone who still supports the "AfPak" war must admit that they too view this as a small price to pay to achieve America's goals in the region.