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File photo: EPA/BGNES
Week by week, country by country, the Pentagon is quietly seizing more control over battle decisions, sending hundreds more troops to war with little public debate and seeking greater authority to fight extremists across the Middle East and Africa, reported Voice of America.
This week it was Somalia, where President Donald Trump gave the U.S. military more authority to conduct offensive airstrikes on al-Qaida-linked militants. Next week it could be Yemen, where military leaders want to provide more help for the United Arab Emirates' battle against Iranian-backed rebels.
Key decisions on Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan are looming, from ending troop number limits to loosening rules that guide commanders in the field.
The changes in Trump's first two months in office underscore his willingness to let the Pentagon manage its own day-to-day combat.
Under the Obama administration, military leaders chafed about micromanagement that included commanders needing approval for routine tactical decisions about targets and personnel moves
The United States has strongly condemned recent killings in western Syria, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing outrage at the murders
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have carried out strikes on military targets and weapon storage sites in southern Syria, according to an announcement made early Wednesday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced the establishment of the "Grain from Ukraine" fund, aiming to support efforts to stabilize Syria by providing security and economic opportunities
The Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank off the Spanish coast on December 23, following an explosion onboard
The United States has withdrawn a USD 10 million reward for the capture of Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Julani), Syria's newly appointed leader and head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group
Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes late Sunday on military sites in Syria’s Latakia and Tartus provinces
On March 25, Alexander Lukashenko marked the beginning of his seventh term as Belarusian president
An explosion took place at a munitions warehouse in the Poličské strojírny plant, located in the Svitavy district of Czechia, on March 25
The European Union is set to introduce a two-year probationary period for young drivers, a first in the bloc’s history
The Trump administration’s plans for military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen were inadvertently shared with a journalist after he was mistakenly added to a high-level Signal group chat
Poland has announced plans to significantly ramp up domestic production of anti-personnel mines as part of efforts to reinforce its eastern borders
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key opposition figure and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, has been officially nominated as the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) candidate
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