DAMASCUS, SYRIA - SEPTEMBER 24: Syrian men search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building following the Syrian army's airstrikes on the opposition controlled Duma district, in the suburbs of Damascus, Syria on September 24, 2014. (Photo by Yousef Albostany/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The White House has acknowledged for the first time that strict standards President Obama imposed last year to prevent civilian deaths from U.S. drone strikes will not apply to U.S. military operations in Syria and Iraq.