Trump gives CIA authority to conduct drone strikes, report says

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump has given the Central Intelligence Agency new authority to conduct drone attacks against suspected militants, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing U.S. officials. The move would be a change from the policy of former President Barack Obama's administration of limiting the CIA's paramilitary role, the newspaper reported. The White House, the U.S. Department of Defense and the CIA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Obama had sought to influence global guidelines for the use of drone strikes as other nations began pursuing their own drone programs. The United States was the first to use unmanned aircraft fitted with missiles to kill militant suspects in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.