Trump Orders First Airstrikes On Foreign Soil Since Taking Office

In apparent continuity with the GWOT era of the prior two decades, the Trump White House has announced the president ordered a wave of airstrikes on Islamic State cells in Somalia on Saturday, in the very first US strikes abroad since Donald Trump entered his second term.

The Pentagon announced that “multiple” terrorists were killed and that it further assessed no civilians were harmed. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said US Africa Command carried out the strikes as directed by Trump as Commander-in-Chief. Trump on social media hailed that the attacks destroyed the “caves” that ISIS terrorists live in.

“The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians. Our Military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did!” Trump wrote.

“The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that “WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!” – he added in caps.

But specifics haven’t been offered, such as the identities of those targeted and killed, or the precise location. However the government of Somalia confirmed the operation was done with its approval and coordination.

“Our initial assessment is that multiple operatives were killed in the airstrikes and no civilians were harmed,” Defense Secretary Hegseth said. “This action further degrades ISIS’s ability to plot and conduct terrorist attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians and sends a clear signal that the United States always stands ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies.”

The office of Somalia’s president announced that the operation “reinforces the strong security partnership” between the two countries in “combating extremist threats.” Somalia “remains resolute in working with its allies to eliminate international terrorism and ensure regional stability,” it said on X.

Past presidents have also targeted Somalia with similar such sporadic strikes against Islamist militants. It’s part of the dangerous and ongoing post-9/11 trend of ordering acts of war on foreign soil but without any Congressional debate, review, or authorization whatsoever.

Libertarian and former Independent Congressman from Michigan Justin Amash complained about this lack of Congressional input:

Congress hasn’t authorized war in Somalia—even against ISIS. The separation of powers exists to protect both the liberty and safety of Americans. Offensive missile strikes are acts of war and can’t be justified without the express approval of Congress for the specific conflict.

…Presidents can’t declare war. No congressional authorization grants the power to target “terrorists” as a general grouping.

Continuing the decades-old tradition of bombing Somalia https://t.co/6YOG1zw0B9

— Dave DeCamp (@DecampDave) February 1, 2025

But hawks will look to the law enacted just days after 9/11, the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), as providing legal cover and grounds for the president to do that. It has remained an extremely controversial law and position, granting wide and ambiguous powers to the Executive Branch.