President Trump has rolled back constraints on American commanders to authorize airstrikes and special operation raids outside conventional battlefields, broadening the range of people who can be targeted, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the policy shift.
The quiet but seismic recalibration dismantles Biden-era mandates and signals a return to more aggressive counterterrorism policies Trump first instituted in his first term.During his first overseas trip earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a meeting with senior U.S. military leaders from U.S. Africa Command in Germany, signed a directive easing policy constraints and executive oversight on airstrikes and the deployment of American commandos.The move prioritizes flexibility by giving commanders greater latitude to decide whom to target while relaxing the multi-layered centralized control former President Joe Biden implemented over airstrikes and raids by American special operation forces, U.S. officials told CBS News on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about national security matters.
One senior Defense Department official told CBS News that Biden’s warfare policies were carbon copies of those established during former President Barack Obama’s second term. During Biden’s tenure, airstrikes typically focused on the senior leadership of terrorist organizations.
