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War could enter Yemen, Somalia More than 800 U.S. troops, including Army Green Berets and a Delta Force "snatch team," are preparing to capture or kill suspected al- Qaeda fugitives in at least two countries in the Horn of Africa By Jack Kelley and Dave Moniz, USA TODAY WASHINGTON 09/19/2002 — More than 800 U.S. troops, including Army Green Berets and a Delta Force "snatch team," are preparing to capture or kill suspected al-Qaeda fugitives in at least two countries in the Horn of Africa, U.S. military and intelligence officials said Wednesday. Several dozen midlevel members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network are believed to be hiding in Yemen, a longtime base for al-Qaeda operatives and a sanctuary for others who fled the U.S.- led war on terror in Afghanistan. The planned operation in the region would be a major new front in the military war on terrorism, which has been largely focused on Afghanistan. The soldiers, joined by CIA paramilitaries, are expected to move against al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen, bin Laden's ancestral homeland, and Somalia, Pentagon officials said. Military action also is being considered in Sudan and Djibouti, U.S. intelligence officials added. The Pentagon has dispatched the Marine Corps amphibious assault ship USS Belleau Wood off the coast of Yemen to act as a floating platform for the assaults, military officials say. It also has deployed more than a dozen attack helicopters to the region. Edmund Hull, the U.S. ambassador to Yemen, and Army Gen. Tommy Franks, head of the U.S. Central Command, are negotiating with Yemeni officials on a joint effort to hunt terror suspects there, the intelligence officials said. The CIA would run the operation. Yemen denied Wednesday that U.S. troops would hunt for al-Qaeda fugitives there. "Yemen's position is clear: Yemeni forces are the ones responsible for conducting any operations — be they searches or attacks," a Yemeni official told Reuters. The U.S. troops are at a French military base in Djibouti, a small African nation across the Red Sea from Yemen. They are awaiting orders, Pentagon officials said. Military and intelligence officials discussed the planned action after ABC News reported the deployments Tuesday. Yemen has been under U.S. scrutiny since October 2000, when the bombing of the USS Cole killed 17 U.S. sailors in Aden. Officials blame al-Qaeda. Last week, Pakistan said eight of 10 recently captured members of al- Qaeda, including alleged Sept. 11 coordinator Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, were from Yemen. The ringleader of a suspected al-Qaeda cell in upstate New York also may be hiding in Yemen, officials add. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002-09-18-yemen_x.htm __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes http://finance.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu 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 ==^================================================================
