Trump simplifies rules on military and air strikes, expands people who can be targeted

President Trump has backed down restrictions on U.S. commanders to authorize air strikes and special operational raids, thus expanding the range of people who can be targeted, according to U.S. officials understand the policy shift.

Quiet but earthquake recalibration removed the Biden-era mission and said it would return to more aggressive counter-terrorism policies, which Trump had first formulated in his first term.

In his first Overseas travel Earlier this month, the Minister of Defense Pete HegsethIn a meeting with senior military leaders of the United States Africa Command, loose policy restrictions and supervision of air strikes and deployment of U.S. commandos were signed.

The move was made by giving commanders a greater latitude to determine who aims at whom, while relaxing multi-layer centralized control of air strikes and raids by U.S. Special Operations Forces. Former President Joe Biden told CBS News on anonymous by U.S. officials because they have no right to speak publicly on national security matters.

A senior Defense Department official told CBS News that Biden’s war policy was a carbon copy established during former President Barack Obama’s second term. During Biden's tenure, air strikes were usually focused on senior leadership of terrorist organizations.

Officials added that Mr. Trump’s approach is both risky and rewarding, as streamlining the process may reduce the capabilities of foreign terrorist organizations more quickly, given the lower thresholds required for strikes and expanding target choices, but it inherently increases the risks posed by flawed decisions and unexpected civilians.

Al-shabaab, an Islamic armed group in Somalia Hossis According to U.S. officials understand the meeting, potential goals were discussed in Yemen. It is unclear whether other American combatants around the world have received the same instructions.

CBS News contacted the Pentagon and U.S. Africa Command on Tuesday, but has not received a reply.

According to the website of the US Africa Command, U.S. military airstrikes are divided into two broad categories – intentional and defensive. The intentional strike followed a process of multi-layered regulations and senior scrutiny, which was run through joint staff and executive departments under the Biden administration.

Throughout the deliberate strike, military lawyers reviewed the compiled intelligence to determine whether individuals are legal combatants under the law of armed conflict to reduce the risk of civilian casualties and to avoid targeted killing innocent people being mistaken for terrorist suspects.

According to the US Africa Command website, “use defensive air strikes in situations where the U.S. or specially designated companion forces are in imminent danger of hostile forces.” These types of air strikes are usually authorized by fighter aircraft orders and the administration does not need to approve these strikes.

A leaked classification study obtained by Intercept details how the U.S. government authorized a drone strike between 2011 and 2012 after presidential approval during the Obama administration – a similarly implemented policy under Biden.

Before a strike was launched, military commanders must ensure that many strict standards were met and approved by seven decision makers, including the president. Members of terrorist organizations that use two separate forms of intelligence must identify targeted individuals. Civilian casualties must be considered as minimal. And there may be no “contradictory intelligence” that confuses the waters.

The process turned into a high-risk roundtable. Assembly target packs, combatants, CIA mission leaders and host country task forces must all be signed on the air strike. A single objection along the way means that the action will be stopped.

It is not clear whether these same provisions are included in the new directive. However, they did exist during Mr. Trump’s first term, with some exceptions, with the approval of the custodial state in countries such as Afghanistan.

The commander of the US African commander is in a period of turmoil inside the Pentagon shooting The Trump administration, advocated by senior judges, is the general of the Air Force, Army and Navy. These top Pentagon officials have traditionally been seen as apolitical stance, covering a wide range of responsibilities, from monitoring criminal cases involving equality and documents to ensuring the highest brass adheres to international law of armed conflict.

Heggs defended the evacuation in his address to reporters on Monday, noting that it is necessary to ensure that there are no “barriers of orders issued by the commander-in-chief”.

He added: “Ultimately, I hope the best attorneys in each service will give the best advice for legal orders and give legal orders, which we don’t think are perfect for these specific positions, so we are looking for the best.”

Margaret Brennan and Eleanor Watson contributed to the report.