collateral damage

plural collateral damages

1. euphemisticuncountableusuallygovernmentDamage to civilian property or civilian casualties that is the unintended result of military operations.

   But the most critical tension concerns the need to balance minimal own-casualties and low collateral damage with operational effectiveness.

   2004, Alice Hills, Future War in Cities: Rethinking a Liberal Dilemma, →ISBN, page 197

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   A certain amount of collateral damage and destruction to the surrounding environment has always been viewed as a necessary but generally undesirable by-product of military conflict.

   1999, Dennis L. Soden, The Environmental Presidency, →ISBN, page 237

   And, most importantly, there may come a point when, by taking measures to improve the security of the attacking force, the increase in the expected collateral damage outweighs the anticipated military advantage.

   2009, Ian Henderson, The Contemporary Law of Targeting, →ISBN, pages 205–206

2. uncountableusuallyHarm to innocent people that results from policy decisions.

   Merely the existence of collateral damage – whether in war or in a managerial situation - is symptomatic to me of misdirected power and synonymous with a failing in the exercise of power.

   2011, Krishna Pillai, Essence of a Manager, →ISBN, page 32

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   What is missing from this line of reasoning, however, is a frank assessment of the collateral damage caused by supply-side efforts and whether this harm outweighs the unproven positive impact of current programs, which is likely to be marginal at best.

   2005, Coletta Youngers, Eileen Rosin, Drugs and Democracy in Latin America: The Impact of U.S. Policy, →ISBN, page 339

   Neoliberals readily admit that economic liberalization causes some dislocations, but they view such collateral damage as necessary for the longer term gains of increased productivity and efficiency.

   2009, David J. Hess, Localist Movements in a Global Economy, →ISBN, page 25

3. uncountableusuallyUnintended victims of an attack targeted at someone or something else.

   From their earliest childhood, William and Harry were collateral damage in a cold war between their parents, one that could turn hot in front of them in alarming ways.

   2022 April 5, Tina Brown, “How Princess Diana’s Dance With the Media Impacted William and Harry”, in Vanity Fair, archived from the original on 06 Apr 2022

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   The versatility and specificity of PDT regards dosing and delivery may provide a far superior treatment and management of infection than antibiotics and minimize the risk of developing resistance as well as collateral damage to host bacteria.

   2008, Michael R. Hamblin, Advances in Photodynamic Therapy, →ISBN, page 294

   The possibility of false claims exists with kinetic attacks as well, but claims about collateral damage from a cyberattack are likely to be even more difficult to refute.

   2009, Herbert S. Lin, Kenneth W. Dam, William A. Owens, Technology, Policy, Law, and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and use of Cyberattack Capabilities, →ISBN, page 264

   “So we're talking about collateral damage?” He hated the expression, because it meant someone took life very lightly, but wasn't that true? That was the nature of murder. "I doubt that poor nurse was the object of our killer's hatred. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

   2014, Hannah Alexander, Collateral Damage, →ISBN, page 86