There go the last vestiges of any serious counterterror effort from the Obama Administration. Islamic supremacists and Leftist jihad enablers have been pressuring him for years to do this, and have heaped all kinds of outlandish abuse upon him for not jumping immediately to do their bidding. Most outlandishly of all, this most Islamophilic of Presidents won an “Islamophobia” award in the UK a few months ago. It was only a matter of time before he would cave.
“Obama backs off drone strikes,” by Kristina Wong, The Hill, May 19, 2014:
President Obama is relying less on drones and more on foreign governments in the global fight against terrorists.
The shift, which also includes fewer unilateral special operations raids of the type that killed Osama bin Laden, is prompting criticism that Washington depends on unstable governments such as in Nigeria, where Boko Haram, an extremist group, has emerged as a new threat.
The Pentagon has hiked its budget for “Section 1206” counterterrorism programs to train and equip foreign militaries from $218.6 million in 2012 to a requested $290.2 million in 2014, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report.
Its budget for “Section 1208” counterterrorism programs, which train and equip foreign militaries and also include more specific operational activities, is classified, but defense officials say that while the amount has stayed stable, money has shifted from Afghanistan to North Africa and the Middle East.
The administration zealously used drones at the beginning of Obama’s term, a strategy that angered partner governments and drew criticism from both the left and the right.
The scrutiny led the president to announce last spring that the U.S. would be more tempered in its use of unmanned airstrikes against terrorists.
The administration provides no statistics on these attacks, but the nonprofit organization The Long War Journal found the number in Yemen fell from 41 in 2012 to 26 in 2013. In Pakistan, the number dropped from an estimated 117 in 2010 to 28 in 2013.
The White House formally rejects the idea that the government is relying more on foreign governments in the war on terrorism.
But in a speech at the National Defense University in Washington last May where Obama laid out his plans on fighting terrorism, the president spoke of the need to work with other nations.
“Beyond Afghanistan, we must define our effort not as a boundless ‘global war on terror’ but rather as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America,” Obama said. “In many cases, this will involve partnerships with other countries. Much of our best counter-terrorism cooperation results in the gathering and sharing of intelligence and the arrest and prosecution of terrorists.”
Critics say the limits of the strategy can be seen around the world.
“That makes sense where there’s capability, but there’s no substitute for American counterterrorism expertise,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told The Hill….
Well, that expertise is vastly overrated, Senator, especially now that counterterror officials are forbidden to study the motives and goals of the terrorists.