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Ananova : Pentagon 'lowers sights on Iraq' as anti-terror target =================================== A leading US official has hinted the Pentagon is moving away from making Iraq its next target in the war on terrorism. Instead, the US will concentrate on lawless areas in countries including Somalia, Yemen, the Philippines and Indonesia hosting al-Qaida and linked groups. Deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz outlined the future strategy in an interview with the New York Times but warned the campaign in Afghanistan was not over. He described the country as being "at least as treacherous and dangerous now as it was a month or two ago". Pentagon planners were engaged in working out what to do next and confirmed possible terror bases in Yemen and Somalia are coming under scrutiny. Mr Wolfowitz told the newspaper: "Obviously, Somalia comes up as a possible candidate for al-Qaida people to flee to precisely because the government is weak or non-existent." He said the search is now on in Somalia for people the US can use as allies in the country, instead of campaigning alone. The comment is the first official confirmation that the US is involved in any way in Somalia. Mr Wolfowitz said Yemen was a possible theatre for future operations, with al-Qaida known to have cells in remote parts of the country, where Osama bin Laden has close ethnic ties. He also named the Philippines and Indonesia as areas where the US is considering aiding government-run efforts against al-Qaida-linked terrorists. In the mainly-Catholic Philippines extremist Islamic separatists known as Abu Sayyaf, are fighting a bitter guerrilla war on the island of Basilan. Story filed: 16:22 Tuesday 8th January 2002 ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
