At a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the White House today, President Obama said he was “ultimately accountable” for civilian deaths in Afghanistan.
Responding to a question about the state of the military conflict in Afghanistan, Obama discussed the timeline for troop withdrawals, described elements of progress, and then addressed civilian casualties.
When there is a civilian casualty, that is not just a political problem for me. I am ultimately accountable, just as General McChrystal is accountable, for somebody who’s not on the battlefield who got killed. And that is something I have to carry with me… so we do not take that lightly.
