For reasons unknown, except to protect some of his friends, Barack Obama restricted airstrikes against Islamic terrorists in Somalia. President Donald Trump approved new airstrikes against al-Qaeda’s third largest branch – al-Shabaab.
President Donald Trump is ramping up airstrikes in Somalia against Al Qaeda’s third largest affiliate, al-Shabaab, the Pentagon announced Thursday.
The new authority ends Obama-era restrictions on drone strikes in Somalia.
The top U.S. general for Africa told reporters on Friday that he had requested the authority to conduct more strikes against al-Shabaab in Somalia.
“It’s very important and very helpful for us to have little more flexibility, a little bit more timeliness, in terms of decision-making process and it’ll allow us to give — in fact, counter ISIS or in our case in Somalia, al-Shabaab,” said Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the head of U.S. Africa Command
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