Afghanistan: Trump’s Authorisation Allows US Forces To Conduct Hundreds Of Airstrikes A Month

For the first time in sixteen years, the winter season in Afghanistan might not witness a slump in the war against terrorism, reports the Washington Post. Winter is usually when Taliban terrorists head back to their villages while American soldiers lay low. Data from the United States Air Force (USAF) Central Command shows that the number of airstrikes in December are generally low, often peaking at 100 while it remains significantly higher throughout the rest of the year.

Back in December 2012 when there were more than 100,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, the USAF conducted around 200 air strikes. This winter however, the figure has touched 465, averaging to around 15 per day, far greater than the 65 air strikes conducted in December 2016. Between August and December 2017, the total number of air strikes has touched 2,000 – nearly the same as those conducted in the whole of 2015 and 2016.

The increase in the number air strikes is a part of United States President Donald Trump’s new strategy which allows the US military to strike Taliban targets at will as compared to the earlier restrictions of defending Afghanistan soldiers under imminent attack under the presidency of Barack Obama. Several officers have described the new actions as "gloves being taken off”.

Action in Afghanistan is set to intensify as military activity in Iraq and Syria slowly comes down, allowing the US to focus their efforts on Afghanistan.