The White House is considering delegating additional authority to the Pentagon to authorize more time-sensitive, anti-terrorist missions than now, multiple U.S. officials told The Daily Beast.
President Trump has indicated that he wants Defense Secretary James Mattis to have leeway in launching these time-sensitive missions. This would eliminate the long approval process that was in place under President Barack Obama – a process that critics say stalled missions by hours or even days.
"It's all about controlling escalation," stated a former Obama administration official, "Do I want to give someone else the authority to get me deeper into a war?"
Commanders have the authority to make these calls inside declared war zones. But outside these war zones, in places such as Yemen, Libya, or Somalia, and other areas which are unstable or ungoverned, the approval process can go as high as the Oval Office for permission to launch a drone strike or special-operations team.
Authority could be given to Mattis for extremely sensitive operations, while the delegation to strike pre-approved targets in raids or with drones could go as far down as the commander of Joint Special Operations Command, thus enabling more immediate action by the elite force. The national security apparatus would be notified of the operation, but JSOC teams wouldn't have to wait for permission from the White House to act on targets that are already on the high-value target list, The Daily Beast reports.
Mackenzie Wolf is an editorial intern for Military Times.
