stevedogc

I guess Bush is finally taking his "you are either with us, or with the terrorists" line more seriously. I guess the White House got tired of waiting for other countries to get the job done. If we only had this attitude when we went after Bin Laden in Tora Bora, then maybe we'd have gotten him by now. I only hope this tactic does not backfire on the US and make us look worse to other countries as I believe we need their assistance in helping defeat terrorism. Time will tell. I wonder if Obama will approve the same type of "operations" into these countries when he becomes president.

FOXNews.com - Report: Secret Order Lets U.S. Strike Al Qaeda Anywhere - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

Report: Secret Order Lets U.S. Strike Al Qaeda Anywhere

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has conducted nearly a dozen secret operations against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups in Syria, Pakistan and other countries since 2004, The New York Times reported Sunday night.

Citing anonymous U.S. officials, the Times story said the operations were authorized by a broad classified order that then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed and President George W. Bush approved in spring 2004. The order gave the military authority to attack Al Qaeda anywhere in the world and to conduct operations in countries that were not at war with the U.S.

One such operation was an Oct. 26 raid inside Syria, the Times reported. Washington has not formally acknowledged the raid, but U.S. officials have said the target was a top Al Qaeda in Iraq figure. Syria has asked for proof and said eight civilians were killed in the attack.

In another mission, in 2006, Navy SEALs raided a suspected terrorist compound in Pakistan's tribal areas.

The raids have typically been conducted by U.S. Special Forces, often in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency, the newspaper said. Even though the process has been streamlined, specific missions have to be approved by the defense secretary or, in the cases of Syria and Pakistan, by the president.