http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1225698043601&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
Secret US Strikes in Muslim Countries CAIRO --- The US military has carried out a series of secret attacks inside a number of Muslims countries, including Pakistan and Syria, under a confidential order given by President George Bush. Citing senior officials, The New York Times reported on Monday, November 10, that the US mounted nearly 12 raids against suspected Al-Qaeda posts under the 2004 secret order. The order, "Al Qaeda Network Exord", allowed the military to launch attacks anywhere and mandated it to conduct operations in countries not at war with the US. It identifies 15 to 20 countries, including Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and several Gulf states, said a senior administration official. Under that order, a Navy Steal team attacked a suspected compound in Pakistan's Bajaur region in 2006. Officials watched the entire operation live at CIA headquarters in Virginia through a video camera installed on a Predator aircraft that was sent to the area. The order also allowed senior officials to think through how the US would respond if an operation went badly. "If that helicopter goes down in Syria en route to a target, the American response would not have to be worked out on the fly," said a former senior military official. Last month, American troops attacked a village near Syrian border with Iraq, killing eight civilians. A US official in Washington later said the raid had targeted militants smugglings arms and fighters into Iraq. According to a senior military official and an outside adviser to the Pentagon, the operation was not the first by US commandos in Syria. They said Special Operations forces have several times made cross-border raids since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Commandos According to the Times, the Pentagon has used the order to dispatch commandos to several countries including Somalia and Pakistan. In September, the US launched a commando operation in a village in South Waziristan tribal region near the Afghanistan border. The raid reportedly involved more than two dozen members of the elite Navy Seals who spent several hours on the ground and killed about two dozen suspected fighters. They were supported by an AC-130 gunship and whisked away by helicopters after completing the mission. In late 2006, operatives and AC-130 gunships were sent by the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command to an airstrip near the Ethiopian town of Dire Dawa. From there, members of a classified unit called Task Force 88 crossed repeatedly into Somalia to hunt alleged Al-Qaeda members. Under the secret order, an AC-130 struck an isolated fishing village on January 7, 2007, near the Kenyan border. Shortly, American commandos and Ethiopian troops were examining the rubble to determine whether any Al-Qaeda operatives had been killed. -- Linda *http://freedetainees.org <http://freedetainees.org/> * --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "bangla-vision" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bangla-vision?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
