Rumsfeld Calls Civilian Deaths Relatively Low

Defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld claimed in July 2002 that fewer deaths of innocent civilians was relatively low in comparison to previous wars. According to Thom Shanker American commanders at times used inaccurate information provided by local Afghans. Mr. Rumsfeld states:

"It is exceedingly difficult to get into an area immediately, find out
exactly what the casualties were, and come up with something that one feels confidence in by way of an estimate."

He also claims that the numbers of casualties found have often been less than what was initially reported. It is difficult to estimate how many innocent civilian casualties there are and what really counts as one. There are many different circumstances and situations in war that calculating deaths based on American attacks is questionable. Although Rumsfeld states that even with the age of advanced technology and precision-guided munitions there is still evidence of innocent lives lost, there has to be some carelessness on their behalf.