Trump escalated drone strikes beyond Obama’s totals across expanded theaters.

Evidence

As a candidate, Trump famously promised to kill not only those accused of terrorism but their families as well. The racist dehumanization was extended beyond “combatants” or military age men the Obama administration saw fit to kill to include their families as well. In power, Trump dramatically expanded the theater of operations from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria to Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia. In just his first two years in office, he launched more strikes in each of these countries than Obama had. He staged 238 strikes in Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan, more than Obama’s 186 over a similar period. He carried out 176 attacks in Yemen in just two years, dwarfing Obama’s total of 154 strikes in Yemen in eight years. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 519

Categorization

• XREF: Direct empirical payoff of the earlier ‘brown terrorist’ racialization thesis: the presumptive-combatant category widened to include families. — connects to: Trump’s drone strike escalation outpaced Obama across every theater. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 531; The drone war escalated dramatically under Trump across new countries — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 519; Trump’s drone strikes outpaced Obama’s totals in far less time (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Trump’s drone strike escalation outpaced Obama across every theater. #corroborates (0.95) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 531
• The drone war escalated dramatically under Trump across new countries #corroborates (0.92) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 519
• Trump’s drone strikes outpaced Obama’s totals in far less time #qualifies (0.80)
• Despite anti-war campaign rhetoric, Trump expanded Obama’s war on terror in the region #corroborates (0.75) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 522