Report: Like Obama, President Trump plans to rely on special forces to fight terrorism

President Trump's senior officials are following in the Obama administration's footsteps by relying on U.S. Special Operations forces, or SOFs, to fight terror groups overseas, according to the New York Times.

The piece states, "...in their two months in office, Trump officials have shown few other signs that they want to back away from Mr. Obama's strategy to train, equip and otherwise support indigenous armies and security forces to fight their own wars instead of having to deploy large American forces to far-flung hot spots."

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The only change the Times has observed is an attempt to loosen restrictions on provisions aimed at protecting civilians during such missions.

Business Insider reports that SOFs can include numerous elite forces across different military branches and government agencies such as the U.S. Navy Seals, Army Green Berets, Marine Scout Snipers and the Special Activities Division of the CIA.

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The media outlet says they became more popular since the successful raid on Osama bin Laden, and they are often used as an alternative to sending thousands of troops into foreign territory.

Despite the advantages, The Atlantic speculated late last year that such a heavy reliance on these groups by the Trump administration could lead to problems; the article states, "After 15 years of waging secret wars that began in Afghanistan and spread to Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, and Syria, while covering down on other responsibilities around the globe, SOF are already stretched thin and on the brink of burn out."

Critics have also pointed out that Trump's first military raid, using the Navy's SEAL Team 6 in Yemen, appeared chaotic and resulted in the deaths of local civilians as well as Navy SEAL William Owens.