President Trump has reverted to looser counterterrorism rules, rescinding Biden-era limits on drone strikes and commando raids outside conventional war zones. Previously, Biden’s administration required White House approval for targeting suspected militants, but now field commanders can independently decide to carry out strikes. This shift suggests more frequent airstrikes in unstable regions like Somalia and Yemen, potentially increasing civilian risk. The change was reportedly formalized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and reflected a return to Trump’s 2017 protocols which allowed targeting based on militants’ terrorism status. Critics argue this could lead to greater civilian casualties amidst ongoing global terrorism concerns.
President Trump has reversed the counterterrorism restrictions that were established during the Biden administration, restoring the more relaxed guidelines from his initial term, as reported by sources familiar with the situation.
Previously, the Biden administration mandated that U.S. military and C.I.A. drone operatives obtain White House authorization prior to engaging a suspected militant outside designated war zones. The new directive allows field commanders more discretion to determine when to execute a strike.
This easing of regulations indicates that the U.S. may conduct more frequent airstrikes to target terrorism suspects in regions with weak governance, such as Somalia and Yemen, which are not classified as traditional battlefields. Consequently, there is a heightened possibility of civilian casualties.
While the Trump administration did not formally declare this adjustment, some aspects were covered earlier by CBS News. The report indicated that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had signed a directive seemingly implementing these changes for the U.S. military’s Africa Command during a meeting last month in Germany. Mr. Hegseth referenced the CBS report on social media, simply stating: “Correct.”
A source who wished to remain anonymous provided further clarification, indicating that Mr. Trump reinstated the rules from October 2017 while revoking the regulations signed by Mr. Biden in October 2022. A senior Pentagon official corroborated this information.
The precise timing of Mr. Trump’s decision remains uncertain, though it likely occurred after a February 1 airstrike targeting ISIS militants in Somalia. During a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 21, Sebastian Gorka, senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, recounted Mr. Trump personally approving that operation, which would be unnecessary under the new rules.
Mr. Hegseth was in Germany on February 11. A strike against ISIS militants was executed on February 16, as reported by U.S. Africa Command. Although Mr. Gorka did not mention this strike in his address, he proclaimed: “We have unleashed the hammers of hell on ISIS.”
Redacted documents from the Trump and Biden administrations regarding their respective rules were made public following Freedom of Information Act lawsuits filed by The New York Times. The American Civil Liberties Union also pursued a parallel lawsuit for the disclosure of the Trump-era regulations.
Under the original Trump framework, the government established general operating principles that allowed for counterterrorism “direct action” — typically airstrikes, but occasionally commando operations. As long as the stipulated conditions were satisfied, operators had the autonomy to choose which militants to target. In contrast, the Biden system necessitated White House approval for every strike.
Additionally, the Trump guidelines allowed for the targeting of militants strictly based on their affiliation with a terrorist organization, enabling commanders to potentially attack lower-tier foot soldiers for policy reasons. The Biden framework, however, required personal authorization from the president, effectively restricting attacks to high-value targets.
Both sets of regulations advocated for “near certainty” regarding the absence of civilian casualties, though exceptions were allowed. A review during the Biden term noted that while the Trump guidelines upheld the “near certainty” standard for protecting women and children, they frequently permitted a lower threshold for adult male civilians.
Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, commented on the adjustments, emphasizing the need to empower commanders.
“President Trump will not shy away from eliminating any terrorist inclined to harm Americans,” he stated. “We will not allow Biden-era bureaucracy to impede our military personnel from performing their duties. America is reinvigorated in the realm of counterterrorism and the fight against jihadists.”
Under the Biden rules, commanders were still permitted to conduct strikes in self-defense without needing higher authorization. Most counterterrorism airstrikes in recent years have fallen into this category, such as engaging Al Shabab militants in Somalia to safeguard U.S. partner forces, and targeting Houthis in Yemen threatening American vessels.
Fewer counterterrorism raids and drone strikes outside recognized war zones have been observed as the global terrorist landscape has shifted.
For instance, during the height of ISIS’s power, militants concentrated in Iraq and Syria — areas where the U.S. was actively engaged in combat and classified as conventional war zones, thus the special rules for direct action did not apply.
The advent of armed drone technology in the early 21st century coincided with the expansive conflict ignited by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, as targeted killings outside of conventional battlefields became a prominent aspect of the armed struggle.
Terrorist organizations typically operated from poorly governed areas or failed states lacking American military presence or effective law enforcement to tackle the threats they posed. Such regions included the tribal areas of Pakistan, rural Yemen, Somalia, and Libya.
The use of drone strikes against terrorism suspects in these locations began during President George W. Bush’s tenure and increased significantly during President Barack Obama’s first term, accompanied by rising legal and political concerns surrounding civilian casualties. The government’s intentional killing of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, suspected of terrorism, without trial in 2011 heightened the national discourse on this matter.
In May 2013, Mr. Obama established the first comprehensive set of guidelines to manage military and C.I.A. operations outside recognized combat zones, seeking to avoid excessive force. These rules included a high-level interagency review to assess whether a suspect represented a threat to Americans.
Mr. Trump replaced these regulations in 2017 with a decentralized approach. Mr. Biden later suspended this framework, instituting a version that bore similarities to Mr. Obama’s, which has now been abolished.