Image credit: Daniel GreenfeldThis article was first published on Just Security
Much of the news in the first few months of the Trump administration has been dominated by the Russia scandal, James Comey, and the President’s Twitter feed. Falling below the radar of many news outlets, but something that is of growing concern, is the Trump administration’s attitude and approach to the use of force overseas. In its short time in power, the new administration has already shown itself to be more aggressive than its far from war-shy predecessor. U.S. strikes in Yemen have dramatically increased, and the average number of lethal operations per month in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen is nearly quadruple what it was under Obama. The limited policy restraints President Obama imposed on the use of lethal force in places far from traditional battlefields are at risk of being discarded by an administration that has already reportedly acted to loosen these rules in parts of Somalia and Yemen. The question remains whether, or how much, the Trump White House will ever commit to transparency and accountability—and what can be done to monitor the administration.
As highlighted in a new report published today by Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Clinic and the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, the heightened prospect of abuse and civilian harm under the new administration makes transparency more important than ever.
