End Obama war legacy

End Obama war legacy

US citizen 8-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki was the third member of her family killed by military action directly ordered by a US president - two by Obama, one by Trump. (Photos supplied)
US citizen 8-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki was the third member of her family killed by military action directly ordered by a US president - two by Obama, one by Trump. (Photos supplied)

When outgoing United States president Barack Obama peacefully turned over power to his successor Donald Trump -- a mark of true democracy -- he also handed him some seven separate wars. Four days later, the military and intelligence community briefed Mr Trump on the controversial and costly war in Yemen. Five days after that, on Jan 29, he ordered a raid by the famous US Navy SEAL Team 6. President Trump's order was to kill a top-level al-Qaeda commander and seize documents from his Bayda province compound.

Though Mr Obama had attempted to veto this raid by the elite force, it was a direct continuation of his actions in more ways than one. Killed in the cross-fire between al-Qaeda guards and the US attackers was an 8-year-old girl. Nawar al-Awlaki was shot in the neck and took two hours to bleed to death. She was the third American citizen of the same family killed by US forces -- her father by a drone attack obeying a direct, signed death warrant by Mr Obama, her 16-year-old brother in a second drone attack in unclear circumstances.

Some say the teenager was targeted, others that he was just another accidental casualty of US wars in the Middle East and Africa. Before this killing, Mr Obama had signed an executive order declaring all males of military age in war zones to be combatants. This was a callous proclamation allowing his administration to deny the slaughter of civilians in drone raids. His policy continued last week as a US military spokesman advised reporters to "take reports of female casualties with a grain of salt".

So, maybe US forces didn't kill 8-year-old Nawar. Without the raid, however, she would still be alive. So would Abdulrahman, her brother, described in glowing terms by his US schoolmates. Their father Anwar al-Awlaki was undoubtedly an evil man who promoted terrorism. But he never was known to harm anyone directly, and the very legality of Mr Obama's order to kill a fellow American without any legal charge of process continues to rankle believers in civil liberty.

Mr Trump's problem is not just that another American was killed at his order. In 2016, the United States bombed Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. Of these seven countries, Congress has given legal authority to attack two. Mr Trump's authorisation of the deadly raid in Yemen highlights a serious problem. It may have been rated a military success, but it killed 23 adult civilians and seven children. More to the point, it raised questions of where Mr Trump intends to take America -- to even more wars in the name of fighting terrorism, or to a rational path.

Mr Trump has stridently insisted he will fight terrorism. That's fine, but it is time for the president to lay out an actual policy. Mr Obama failed utterly to explain the seven separate military adventures he continued up to his departure from office. Mr Trump should explain what, if any, physical wars the US has to fight. More importantly, he must explain why.

During his 16-month election campaign and his 16-day presidency, Mr Trump has issued plenty of hawkish promises. He wants to defeat America's enemies, especially Islamic State, and he wants to appreciate and support US allies. This is rhetoric, and mostly meaningless.

Mr Obama did a poor job of explaining his wars. Mr Trump must do better. The new US president has a chance to set bad policy right. Too many innocent people have died under Mr Obama's policies to justify continuing them.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (3)