Biden Halts Drone Strikes Outside of War Zones

By Staff, Agencies 

Reversing the policy of his predecessor Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden has suspended drone strikes outside of war zones where US forces are operating.

Any drone strikes planned against extremist groups outside of Afghanistan, Syria or Iraq will have to be approved by the White House, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday.

He described the measure as "interim guidance" that was issued "to ensure that the president has full visibility on proposed significant actions."

"It's not meant to be permanent and it doesn't mean a cessation" of strikes,” he told a news conference, noting that “We are clearly focused on the persistent threat of violent extremist organizations. And we're clearly still going to be committed to working with international partners to counter those threats.”

The New York Times said the new guidelines had been secretly passed on to military commanders after Biden came to office on January 20, but were only revealed in recent days.

Drone strikes quickly multiplied after that, becoming the only form of operations in some countries where only a handful of US special forces were deployed in support of local governments, such as in Somalia, or in Libya.

Even though the military says its strikes are "surgical," NGOs have said the attacks often cause civilian casualties, undermining their efficacy in combating extremism.