Using Special Forces Against Terrorism, Trump Seeks to Avoid Big Ground Wars
By ERIC SCHMITTMARCH 19, 2017
Chadian soldiers carrying out a training operation led by a United States Special Forces trainer, right, in N’Djamena last week as part of an annual exercise. Credit Bryan Denton for The New York Times
MARA, Chad — From Yemen to Syria to here in Central Africa, the Trump administration is relying on Special Operations forces to intensify its promised fight against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups as senior officials embrace an Obama-era strategy to minimize the American military’s footprint overseas.
In Africa, President Trump is expected to soon approve a Pentagon proposal to remove constraints on Special Operations airstrikes and raids in parts of Somalia to target suspected militants with the Shabab, an extremist group linked to Al Qaeda. Critics say that the change — in one of the few rejections of President Barack Obama’s guidelines for the elite forces — would bypass rules that seek to prevent civilian deaths from drone attacks and commando operations.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/19/world/africa/trump-special-forces-navy-seals.html?_r=0