{"id":60946,"date":"2017-12-19T09:01:18","date_gmt":"2017-12-19T09:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/?post_type=news_and_analysis&p=60946"},"modified":"2020-02-24T14:56:44","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T14:56:44","slug":"us-counter-terror-air-strikes-double-in-trumps-first-year","status":"publish","type":"news_and_analysis","link":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/news\/us-counter-terror-air-strikes-double-in-trumps-first-year\/","title":{"rendered":"US counter terror air strikes double in Trump’s first year"},"content":{"rendered":"
The number of\u00a0US air strikes jumped in Yemen and\u00a0Somalia in 2017, pointing to an escalation of the global war on terror.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump inherited the framework allowing US aircraft to hit suspected terrorists outside of declared battlefields from his predecessor, Barack Obama. Bar some tinkering, his administration has largely stuck within the framework set by the previous one.<\/p>\n
However, the quantity of operations has shot up under President Trump. Strikes doubled in Somalia and tripled in Yemen.<\/p>\n
In Afghanistan, where the Bureau has been monitoring US airstrikes since it was officially declared a noncombat mission at the end of 2014, the number of weapons dropped is now approaching levels last seen during the 2009-2012 surge.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, there are signs that the drone war may be returning to Pakistan, where attacks were also up, compared with 2016.<\/p>\n