US drone warfare began under Clinton and escalated through Obama to Trump.

Evidence

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. The total civilian casualty rate of these attacks is not known, because the Trump administration placed restrictions on the reporting of these figures. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 531 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

That was, after all, Obama’s genius. Words were weapons designed to lull and disarm and then, when all defenses were down, the drones were deployed abroad and informants were carefully placed in American mosques. President Obama was fully wed to the War on Terror, but an iteration of it that aligned with neoliberal strategy and sensibilities. As the number of days between Cairo and reality increased, his “historic” speech revealed a hidden agenda. — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 299 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The drone war escalated dramatically under Trump across new countries — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 519; Obama’s conciliatory rhetoric masked continued drone and surveillance warfare — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 299; Obama’s rhetoric masked drone strikes and mosque surveillance. (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Trump’s drone strike escalation outpaced Obama across every theater. #corroborates (0.90) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 531
• Trump’s drone strikes outpaced Obama’s totals in far less time #corroborates (0.90)
• Obama’s conciliatory rhetoric masked continued drone and surveillance warfare #corroborates (0.88) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 299
• Obama’s rhetoric masked drone strikes and mosque surveillance. #corroborates (0.88)
• Despite anti-war campaign rhetoric, Trump expanded Obama’s war on terror in the region #expands (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 522
• Obama’s defense guidance continued the War on Terror via drones and special forces #corroborates (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 433