Report: Hegseth dismantled civilian protection program despite military objections

ProPublica reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cut the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response program after polling top commanders, who overwhelmingly favored keeping it. Central Command warned that scaling back the program could increase targeting errors and reduce battlefield awareness, but Hegseth stripped its funding anyway. The decision came as the U.S. launched campaigns in Somalia, Yemen, and Iran, and lawmakers are now questioning whether it contributed to a deadly airstrike on a school in Iran that killed over 100 children.

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The Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response program was designed to improve targeting precision and help commanders understand ground conditions before strikes, with Central Command officials explicitly telling Hegseth's staff that the work enhanced accuracy. Hegseth reportedly viewed the program as emblematic of an overly cautious culture at odds with his vision for the Department of War, and he stripped nearly all of its funding while U.S. operations were expanding across Somalia, Yemen, and Iran.

Following the Minab school strike that killed more than 100 children, Hegseth testified before Congress and pledged an investigation, though no findings have been publicly released. The Department of War attributed the incident