U.S. officials have told the press that President Trump has quietly given the CIA authority to carry out drone strikes against suspected terrorists. The CIA has already used its authority to eliminate Abu al-Khayr al-Masri, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden who was a senior leader of al-Qaeda in Syria, in late February. U.S. officials are still analyzing the results of that strike. At this time, the CIA’s new authorization is limited to Syria but could be extended to include other countries with ties to terrorism, such as Yemen, Libya and Somalia.
CIA Authority To Carry Out Drone Strikes
This is a change from the Obama Administration’s policy, in which the CIA could use drones to conduct intelligence operations such as locating suspected terrorists. The decision to use drones to actually conduct drone strikes against terrorists was the responsibility of the military. Obama’s policy was meant to encourage transparency because…
