Sources: Estimate based upon Combined Forces Air Component Commander 2011-2016 Airpower Statistics; CJTF-Operation Inherent Resolve Public Affairs Office strike release, December 31, 2016; New America Foundation (NAF); Long War Journal (LWJ); The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ); Department of Defense press release; and U.S. Africa Command press release.
*Our data is based on OIR totals between January 10, 2016 and December 31, 2016
Micah Zenko, Council on Foreign Relations: How Many Bombs Did the United States Drop in 2016?
As President Obama enters the final weeks of his presidency, there will be ample assessments of his foreign military approach, which has focused on reducing U.S. ground combat troops (with the notable exception of the Afghanistan surge), supporting local security partners, and authorizing the expansive use of air power. Whether this strategy “works”—i.e. reduces the threat posed by extremists operating from those countries and improves overall security and governance on the ground—is highly contested. Yet, for better or worse, these are the central tenants of the Obama doctrine.
In President Obama’s last year in office, the United States dropped 26,171 bombs in seven countries. This estimate is undoubtedly low, considering reliable data is only available for airstrikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya, and a single “strike,” according to the Pentagon’s definition, can involve multiple bombs or munitions. In 2016, the United States dropped 3,027 more bombs—and in one more country, Libya—than in 2015.
Read more ....
Update #1: US drops more bombs in Obama’s final year of office than in 2015 (Mclatchy News)
Update #2: Here’s How Many Bombs the US Military Dropped in 2016 – and Where They Went (Fiscal Times)
WNU Editor: To find out how many bombs the U.S. dropped in 2015 go here. On Micah Zenko's also adds this important point ....
.... “This estimate is undoubtedly low, considering reliable data is only available for airstrikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya, and a single ‘strike,’ according to the Pentagon’s definition, can involve multiple bombs or munitions.”
2 comments:
More bombs dropped in Syria than Iraq? I must admit this one surprised me. I'd be interested to know how many bombs were dropped by Russia in 2016. While I'm not certain, I would suspect it was much less for the Russians yet the Russian military campaigns of 2016 seem to have been more effective. I think how many bombs one drops are bit like how much money one spends on their military. While the statistic is not unimportant, it receives way to much emphasis.
C'mon Iraq try just a little harder.
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