Staff Reports
In a shocking move, the Biden administration said that fighting terrorism is no longer a top concern for the United States. The New York Times has a version of the new policy that is not secret. It says that drones and military raids can no longer be used to kill or capture high-value targets. Under these new rules, Joe Biden must personally approve almost all strikes, and there must be "near certainty" that no people will be hurt. These rules get rid of the more lax ones that President Trump put in place.
New Biden Policy on Drone Use Says Fighting Terrorism Is No Longer a US Priority https://t.co/COg97UezvR
— RedState (@RedState) July 2, 2023
The way the US military can fight terrorists has changed a lot because of this new strategy. Before, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and some parts of Pakistan were thought to be war zones where drone strikes and military raids could happen. Now, only Iraq and Syria are known to be regular war zones. This means that Biden will have to personally sign off on any strike or raid outside of these places. But Biden is known for taking a long time to make decisions, so it is very unlikely that any strikes will be approved in a fast way. This limits what our troops can do and makes it harder for them to deal with danger.
Also, the new policy says that strikes can only be used to protect American troops overseas or in the "collective self-defense" of partner forces taught by the US. This makes it possible for drones to be used in more places, such as Somalia, where US-armed Somali troops fight against an Islamic uprising. But this strategy still makes it hard for our armed people to do their jobs, because they are always afraid that something will go wrong and end their careers. This, along with the need to print yearly reports on civilian deaths, makes it risky to give permission for any strikes, which discourages taking proactive steps against terrorists.
This strategy not only makes it harder for us to fight terrorism, but it also shows the rest of the world that the US no longer cares about keeping terrorist groups in check. By making fighting terrorism less important, the Biden government is giving these dangerous groups the upper hand. This is a dangerous position to take, and it puts the lives of Americans in danger.
It is clear that this new strategy marks the end of the US war on foreign terrorism, which started after 9/11. Because there are so many rules about using drones, it's almost impossible to get the permissions we need on time. This limits what our forces can do. We are back to a time like the Clinton administration, when the main goal was to capture high-value targets instead of killing them. This is not a good thing because it gives criminals a chance to grow and get stronger.
In the end, Biden's new policy on the use of drones is a big blow to attempts to stop terrorists. By making fighting terrorism less of a priority and making it hard to use drones and military raids, the Biden government is putting American lives at risk and giving terrorist groups more power. This is a sad and dangerous way to act, and it will cause problems for a long time.
