War rules

New war rules emphasize need to avoid civilian casualties

The Pentagon has revised its rules of war to put more emphasis on the need to reduce civilian casualties and avoid "excessive harm" to people and property when planning and conducting attacks. 

The changes to the Law of War manual include a new section that lays out the need for commanders to weigh any potential military advantage gained by an attack against the potential for collateral civilian injuries or deaths. And it says the military should take "feasible precautions" when planning and conducting attacks.

Precautions laid out in the manual reflect what commanders have been doing on the battlefield, including in Iraq and Syria, amid increased scrutiny of civilian casualties in the fight. But the changes formalize the current policies, updating the document that was released in June 2015.