1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

The Pentagon's own inspector general has confirmed that the military is violating federal law by gutting the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response program. Demand that the Department of Defense submit a full compliance plan by the June 12 deadline and immediately restore the CHMR program and Civilian Protection Center of Excellence to operational status. This isn't a policy disagreement — it's a legal violation. Two federal statutes require this program to exist. Instead, funding has been cut, committee meetings halted, dedicated personnel reassigned, and the remaining seven staff members are reportedly locked out of operations and working from a closet office in Virginia. Elbridge Colby and Dan Driscoll proposed eliminating the program in February, and the military began acting as if those cuts were approved before any formal decision was made. That's not a budget choice — that's the executive branch unilaterally deciding which laws it will follow. Dismantling civilian harm oversight doesn't make our military less responsible for civilian casualties. It just means fewer people are counting them. In the 20 years after 9/11, US strikes killed an estimated 22,000 to 48,000 civilians. On February 28, a strike hit an all-girls elementary school in Iran, killing at least 175 people, most of them children. The inspector general's deadline is June 12. Hold the Pentagon to it.