Don gives CIA nod to carry out drone strikes

US President Donald Trump has reportedly given CIA necessary authorisation to carry out drone strikes against terror groups, a move that could have implications for Pakistan.

This is a change from the policies of the previous Obama administration, under which the department of defence was authorised to carry out such strikes and the CIA used drones to gather intelligence information, The Wall Street Journal reported citing unnamed sources.

The White House and the CIA have so far not responded to the news report. According to the daily, Trump gave such an authorisation to the CIA not long after he visited its headquarters on January 21.

“The Trump administration is also giving the military more authority to conduct operations on its own without first getting a sign off from the Pentagon or the White House,” the report said.

The report said Trump’s unexpected decision to give the CIA the strike authority created ferment inside the US government within days of his visit, as US military officials scrambled to respond to the new directive.

According to New America’s research — a Washington DC based think-tank — before Obama changed his policy and only authorised the department of defence to carry out drone strikes, CIA’s drone strikes were mostly used in Pakistan.