Former US President Barack Obama – Photo: US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
When US President Donald Trump ordered a surprise airstrike on Iranian nuclear facilities without congressional approval, many of his defenders pointed out that former President Obama had taken similar action while in office.
In a June 22 post on social network X by podcast host Alec Lace, there was a paragraph: “In 2016 – Barack Obama dropped 26,171 bombs on Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan without Congress’ permission. In 2025 – Donald Trump dropped 36 bombs on Iran’s nuclear sites without Congress’ permission.”
After verification, the Snopes website said on June 25 that technically, the above statement about former President Obama is correct in that he was not authorized by the US Congress to conduct these military activities.
Snopes experts combed through databases and reports from 2016 about airstrikes and drone campaigns by Obama and his allies to verify the number of airstrikes he approved.
Alec Lace’s X post – Photo: X
In 2014, the United States and its coalition partners launched Operation Inherent Resolve against the Islamic State (IS). Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria were conducted using both manned and unmanned aircraft.
According to data from the US Air Force Central Command, in 2016 alone, the coalition dropped a total of 30,743 weapons in these two countries.
Analysis from the Council on Foreign Relations think tank found that the US carried out 79% of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in 2016, with 24,287 bombs dropped directly by Washington.
In addition, during the Enduring Sentinel campaign in Afghanistan, the US dropped a total of 1,337 weapons from manned and unmanned aircraft, according to data from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism – an independent media agency.
Data from the Long War Journal (a research organization of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies) and the New America organization shows that in 2016, the US carried out about 513 airstrikes in Libya, 43 in Yemen, 14 in Somalia and 3 in Pakistan.
Compiling the above figures, Snopes experts concluded that in 2016 alone, the US dropped more than 26,000 bombs in seven countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan.
In 1973, the US Congress passed the War Powers Resolution to ensure that the legislature has a say in deciding US involvement in any armed conflict.
However, Congress has also enacted numerous Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs), which allow the president to take limited and clearly defined military actions. In practice, these AUMFs have often been broadly interpreted to justify a wide range of military actions.
In 2001, the US Congress passed an AUMF authorizing military action against “those responsible for the September 11 attacks.” In 2002, another AUMF was approved to authorize the use of force against Iraq.
According to a 2016 analysis by the Center for American Progress, the Obama administration invoked the two AUMFs to legitimize drone strikes.
