“You can run, but you can’t hide,” could be the Trump administration’s new motto for hunting down terrorists.
President Trump quietly rolled back constraints put in place by the Biden administration, giving U.S. commanders authority over airstrikes and special ops raids, CBS News reported.
On his first overseas trip this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with senior U.S. Africa Command leaders in Germany and signed the directive reducing policy restrictions and executive oversight for airstrikes and U.S. commando deployments.
The move also widens the range of terrorists who can be targeted by giving commanders more leeway while easing the “multi-layered centralized control” implemented by the Biden admin, CBS reported.
Hegseth legitimized CBS’s report which was based on anonymous U.S. sources by posting the article on X and stating “correct.”
Correct. https://t.co/A9ep6cbEw9
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) February 28, 2025
An official told CBS that President Trump’s streamlined approach has the potential to dismantle terrorist operations more quickly and efficiently but also carries a higher risk of unintended civilian casualties.
U.S. military airstrikes are either planned or defensive, per the U.S. Africa Command. Planned strikes underwent a strict, multi-step review, that was coordinated under Biden by the Joint Staff and executive branch.
Military lawyers are also involved in planned strikes, analyzing intelligence to determine if sought after targets are legal combatants under the law, CBS reported.
Defensive airstrikes are used “in limited circumstances where U.S. or specifically designated partner forces are in imminent danger from hostile forces,” according to the U.S. Africa Commands website. “These types of airstrikes are typically authorized by the combatant command, and the executive branch does not need to approve these strikes,” according to CBS.
It’s not clear if these provisions that mirror Obama-era policies will remain under Trump’s new directive, but plenty of X users were pleased with the change:
We are sleeping better knowing that people who care about America, and Americans are on Watch again.
— WickedSon (@SoggyBottom22) February 28, 2025
Our ppl in the field, who are most knowledgeable with the situation, can make the split-second decision needed.
Not wait on desk generals in DC to decide if the polls favor a strike or not.
— CD Coffelt (@CDCoffelt) February 28, 2025
And this is why @X is so important. The policy makers are able to real time correct or call out the bs of the media. This is great as we no longer need to interpret what the real story is between the media personalities.
— Kar (@Karsten_11b_EoD) February 28, 2025
Hats off to the Team on keeping America safe out there!
— Chad Neibert (@cneibert13) February 28, 2025
Novel approach to remove the administrative shackles from those that are the experts on how to deal with these types of situations.
— crzydoglady (@crzydoglad9594) February 28, 2025
The Pentagon is undergoing several changes during Trump’s first weeks in office with the removal of several top officials.
Hegseth supported the firings, calling the officials “roadblocks to orders given by the commander-in-chief.
“Ultimately, I want the best possible lawyers in each service to provide the best possible recommendations, no matter what, to lawful orders and are given, and we didn’t think those particular positions were well suited, and so we’re looking for the best.”
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