Trump 'eases restrictions' on US military attacks abroad, 'broadens' range of targets
Washington reportedly wants to use the law to expand its illegal war against Yemen
The White House has eased constraints on US military commanders to authorize airstrikes and special operation raids outside conventional battlefields, allowing for a broader range of people who can be targeted, CBS News reported on 28 February.
According to US officials with knowledge of the policy shift, the quiet change drastically alters Biden-era rules governing strikes against so-called terror targets. It marks a return to the more aggressive counterterrorism policies US President Trump instituted in his first term.
Newly appointed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a directive easing policy constraints and executive oversight on airstrikes and the deployment of commandos during a meeting with senior US military leaders from US Africa Command in Germany last month.
The move gives commanders greater freedom to decide whom to target while relaxing the multi-layered centralized control of the Biden era regarding airstrikes and raids by American special operation forces, US officials told CBS News on condition of anonymity.
The Al-Shabaab group in Somalia and the Ansarallah resistance movement in Yemen were discussed as potential targets of new strikes, according to US officials with knowledge of the meeting.
CBS News notes that some officials and experts have expressed concerns that the changes could result in increased civilian casualties. They also worry about the broader implications of expanded military engagement beyond traditional combat zones.
A 2023 study from the Costs of War project at Brown University’s Watson Institute estimated that over 4.5 million people have died from wars launched by the west in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks.
The study estimates that between 906,000 and 937,000 people have been killed as a direct result of wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia.
“These countries have experienced the most violent wars in which the US government has been involved in the name of counterterrorism since 2001,” the report highlights.
Moreover, 3.6 million people are estimated to have died indirectly from the effects of western wars, including economic collapse, food insecurity, destruction of public health facilities, environmental contamination, and recurring violence.