Fact check: How many wars did Obama vs trump Start

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, the question about how many wars Obama versus Trump started reveals a complex picture that defies simple numerical comparison.

Obama's Military Involvement:

• Obama served eight years with the US at war nonstop, from beginning to end, making him the first president to do so ^[1]
• His administration conducted ten times more air strikes in the covert war on terror than his predecessor George W. Bush, with strikes in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and Afghanistan resulting in significant civilian casualties ^[2]
• Obama launched airstrikes on Libya in 2011 without explicit congressional permission ^[3]
• He handed over ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan to his successor, Trump ^[1]

Trump's Military Actions:

• One analysis directly addresses the claim that Trump was the first president in modern history not to start a new war, concluding that Trump is not the only president not to start a new war during his administration ^[4]
• Trump was involved in a 12-day war with Iran and announced a ceasefire ^[5]
• Trump conducted military action against Iran, though sources note the debate over his authority to do so ^[3]
• The analysis notes that Trump has been involved in various military interventions and operations during his presidency ^[4]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several crucial contextual elements:

Definition Challenges:

• The definition of 'war' can be difficult, as noted in the analyses ^[4], making direct numerical comparisons problematic
• The distinction between formal wars, military interventions, drone strikes, and ongoing conflicts is not addressed in the original question

Policy Continuity:

• Despite their differences, there is significant continuity between Obama and Trump's foreign policy approaches ^[6]
• Obama was the first president to argue that the use of force was costly and ineffectual, and Trump has extended this policy ^[7]

Geopolitical Context:

• Trump's doctrine is shaped by geopolitics, including the absence of a peer competitor, the emergence of China as a potential new peer adversary, and the shadow of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ^[6]
• The question ignores inherited conflicts versus newly initiated ones

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains several problematic assumptions:

Oversimplification:

• The question assumes wars can be easily counted and attributed to individual presidents, when the analyses show that military engagements exist on a spectrum from drone strikes to full-scale wars ^{[4] [2]}
• It fails to distinguish between inherited conflicts and newly initiated military actions

Missing Nuance:

• The question doesn't account for the protracted nature of modern conflicts that span multiple administrations ^[1]
• It ignores the reality that Trump's doctrine results in heightened incoherence in US foreign policy due to the fusion of personality and geopolitics ^[6]

Potential Political Bias:

• The framing suggests a desire for a simple numerical comparison that could be used to make political points about which president was more or less warlike
• Political figures and their supporters would benefit from promoting narratives that either emphasize Trump's restraint or Obama's military involvement, depending on their partisan position

The question fundamentally misrepresents the complexity of presidential military decision-making and the continuity of American foreign policy across administrations.