US expands secret military activities

* NY Times says Gen Petraeus has authorised the sending of US Special Operations troops to Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn
of Africa
* US aims to build networks that could penetrate, disrupt and destroy al Qaeda and other terrorist groups

Daily Times Monitor, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 26, 2010

LAHORE:

The top American commander in the Middle East has ordered a broad expansion of clandestine military activity in an effort to disrupt groups of fighters and counter threats in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other countries in the region, the New York Times (NYT) quoted US defence officials and military documents as saying on Tuesday.

The paper said that the secret directive, signed in September by General David H Petraeus, authorises the sending of American Special Operations troops to both friendly and hostile nations in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa to gather intelligence and build ties with local forces.

Officials told NYT that the order also permitted reconnaissance that could pave the way for possible military strikes in Iran if tensions over its nuclear ambitions escalate.

“While the Bush administration had approved some clandestine military activities far from designated war zones, the new order is intended to make such efforts more systematic and long term,” officials told the paper.

Goals: “Its goals are to build networks that could penetrate, disrupt, defeat or destroy al Qaeda and other militant groups, as well as to prepare the environment for future attacks by American or local military forces,” NYT quoted a document as saying.

The order, however, did not appear to authorise offensive strikes in any specific country.

“In broadening its secret activities, the US military has also sought in recent years to break its dependence on the Central Intelligence Agency and other spy agencies for information in countries without a significant American troop presence,” the paper said.

“General Petraeus’s order is meant for small teams of American troops to fill intelligence gaps about terror organisations and other threats in the Middle East and beyond, especially emerging groups plotting attacks against the US,” NYT said.

But some Pentagon officials worry that the expanded role carries risks, they paper said, adding that “the authorised activities could strain relationships with friendly governments like Saudi Arabia or Yemen — which might allow the operations but be loath to acknowledge their cooperation — or incite the anger of hostile nations like Iran and Syria”.

The paper said many in the military were also concerned that as American troops assumed roles far from traditional combat, they would be at risk of being treated as spies if captured and denied the Geneva Convention protections afforded military detainees.

“The precise operations that the directive authorises are unclear, and what the military has done to follow through on the order is uncertain,” the NYT said.

“The seven-page directive appears to authorise specific operations in Iran, most likely to gather intelligence about the country’s nuclear programme or identify dissident groups that might be useful for a future military offensive,” the paper said.

“The Obama administration insists that for the moment, it is committed to penalising Iran for its nuclear activities only with diplomatic and economic sanctions. Nevertheless, the Pentagon has to draw up detailed war plans to be prepared in advance, in the event that President Obama ever authorises a strike.”

“The Defence Department can’t be caught flat-footed,” a Pentagon official with knowledge of General Petraeus’s order told the NYT.

The directive, the Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force Execute Order, signed September 30, may also have helped lay a foundation for the surge of American military activity in Yemen that began three months later.

Special Operations troops began working with Yemen’s military to try to dismantle al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an affiliate of Osama Bin Laden’s terror network based in Yemen.

The Pentagon has also carried out missile strikes from Navy ships into suspected militant hideouts and plans to spend more than $155 million equipping Yemeni troops with armoured vehicles, helicopters and small arms.

Officials said that many top commanders, General Petraeus among them, have advocated an expansive interpretation of the military’s role around the world, arguing that troops need to operate beyond Iraq and Afghanistan to better fight terror groups.

An official told the NYT that the order was drafted in close coordination with Admiral Eric T Olson, the officer in charge of the US Special Operations Command.

US expands secret military missions: report

AFP, NEW YORK, May 26, 2010 ( Sh. M. Network, Somalia) -

The United States has expanded secret military activities in the Middle East, Central Asia and east Africa to break militant networks, The New York Times said on Monday, citing a military document.

The move is to "penetrate, disrupt, defeat or destroy" Al-Qaeda and other groups in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia, the document states, according to the Times.

Alongside those goals are efforts to "prepare the environment" for potential attacks in the future by US forces, the paper added, although a specific country is not singled out in the document for a possible strike.

Defense officials also told the newspaper that the secret order, approved in September by top US commander General David Petraeus, permits reconnaissance ahead of possible military action in Iran if high tensions over its nuclear program continue to mount.

The order is focused on gathering intelligence in the target countries "by American troops, foreign businesspeople, academics or others" to pinpoint threats, identify militants and forge "persistent situational awareness," the Times said citing the document.

While the directive, also aimed at improving ties with local friendly forces in the region, echoes moves by the administration of former president George W. Bush to expand security military operations outside of warzones, the new directive is designed to be a more longterm approach, according to the daily.

The expansion in clandestine operations may strain US ties with allies in the region such as Washington-friendly governments in Saudi Arabia or Yemen, Pentagon officials warn, said the Times.

The daily also noted activities under the Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force Execute Order, as the military directive is named, does not need as much oversight -- such as White House approval for operations, and reporting to Congress -- as required with activities undertaken by the CIA.

More important operations still needed to be cleared through the White House's National Security Council, however.

Such ventures under the order are meant to be for activities that "cannot or will not be accomplished" by the regular military apparatus or other US spy agencies, officials told the Times, speaking on condition of anonymity.

AFP