Susan Schmidt
Pentagon Plans Shift in War on Terror
Wed Sep 18 17:24:48 2002
208.152.73.10

Pentagon Plans Shift in War on Terror
Special Operations Command's Role to Grow With Covert
Approach

By Susan Schmidt and Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, September 18, 2002; Page
A01

The Pentagon is preparing to consolidate control of most of the
global war on terrorism under the U.S. Special Operations
Command, according to
government sources, signaling an intensified but more covert
approach to the next phase in the battle against al Qaeda and other
international terrorist groups.

The unprecedented move, discussed by senior Pentagon
officials for months, comes in response to prodding by Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld for the military to take more aggressive
steps to capture or kill members of al Qaeda, many of whom have fled
since the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan began last year, the
sources said.

The Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, which like the U.S.
Central Command has headquarters in Tampa, has been ordered to
come up with detailed plans in the next several weeks for how it will
manage its expanded responsibilities, sources said.

Traditionally, Special Operations Command has trained and
equipped troops and turned them over to other commanders who
have used them in military operations. Under the new plan, the
Special Operations Command will have to directly oversee operations around the world.

Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke emphasized that no final decision on
the change had been made by Rumsfeld and said she doubted that the change
would be as far-reaching as described by some officers and counterterrorism
officials. "It would be incorrect to say that henceforth that SOCOM would be
the supported command," she said. "There will be individual decisions where
that will be the case. It is absolutely true that there will be many cases where
that will the case."

Another administration official said that the distinction being considered is to
have Special Operations Command focus its limited manpower on "high
value" leadership targets, while Central Command would continue to carry out
mop-up operations against peripheral al Qaeda forces.

Special Operations units have been active in Pakistan for months and are
training military forces in Yemen and Georgia. The presence of those training
missions could provide a cover for conducting any covert raids and other
actions against suspected al Qaeda members in the two countries.

The United States has also placed more than 500 Special Operations troops
in the African nation of Djibouti, where they are near potential hot spots such
as Yemen and Somalia, government officials said. Also, the USS Belleau
Wood, an amphibious assault ship that carries attack helicopters and a
handful of Harrier jump jets, has been stationed off the Horn of Africa for
about six weeks, ready to carry those troops and some specialized
helicopters.

The transfer of command was discussed last week at a meeting at Bolling Air
Force Base attended by Rumsfeld and the top regional commanders in the
U.S. military. Special Operations officers said it is their understanding that the
planned move would make the Special Operations Command, which is
headed by Air Force Gen. Charles R. Holland, the lead U.S. headquarters for
most anti-terrorist actions around the world. Until now, each of the regional
commanders in chief in the U.S. military had overseen all activities in their
areas, whether conducted by conventional forces or Special Operations
troops.

"The reason for this is Rumsfeld's dissatisfaction with what the regional
commanders have been doing," said one veteran Special Operations officer
with extensive overseas experience. He said that he and his peers are "very
enthusiastic" about the change.

Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the chief of U.S. Central Command, would
continue to oversee all military operations in Afghanistan under the
restructuring, though control of Special Operations units in neighboring
Pakistan would be turned over to Holland. Franks would also oversee any
war against Iraq.

Special Operations Command includes highly trained U.S. Special Forces
troops as well as clandestine counterterrorism units that can conduct snatch or
kill missions, among them Navy SEALs and the Army's secret Delta Force.
CIA paramilitary units, which have operated with Special Operations forces in
Afghanistan, are expected to work with the Special Operations Command,
one source familiar with the plans said.

Even before being finalized, the change already is having an effect beyond the
U.S. military. Senior State Department officials were informed in a classified
memo late last week that Special Operations Command's expected new
authority signals a significant intensification in the war on terrorism. Diplomats
are being pressed to pass that message to some of the countries where
terrorists operate, sources said.

"This is going to cause our ambassadors to think differently," said one source
knowledgeable about the new military order. "Our ambassadors are going to
have to deliver some tough messages." Diplomats, he said, will be pushed to
tell some host governments that they must cooperate in the search for al
Qaeda.

Most of the major anti-terrorist operations conducted by the U.S. military
over the last year have taken place in the Middle East and the area around
Afghanistan, so the commander most affected by the new military order is
Franks, who has responsibility for that part of the world.

Franks is now focusing his energies on planning for a possible war against
Iraq and dealing with residual problems in Afghanistan. "Quite frankly, I think
Franks is tickled to have this off his plate," said one person who discussed the
issue with the Central Command chief earlier this year.

Holland was given control of operations in Yemen and Pakistan, two areas
that until now have been major concerns for Franks. Almost all U.S. military
personnel in those two nations are Special Operations troops.

Yemen and Pakistan have been the focus of U.S. counterterrorism efforts in
recent days and weeks. Raids last week in Karachi that netted nine al Qaeda
members, including alleged Sept. 11 planner Ramzi Binalshibh, were the latest
evidence that remnants of the network have found a haven there. Along
Pakistan's mountainous border with Afghanistan, U.S. and Pakistani military
seeking to roust al Qaeda from hideouts have met with limited success
because of resistance from local tribal populations.

Many al Qaeda members arrested in police actions around the world in recent
weeks, including Binalshibh, are Yemenis. Tribal chieftains there reportedly
have given sanctuary to several key al Qaeda members, and they turned back
Yemen's special forces in a bloody battle last December.

Holland, the Special Operations commander, was said to be somewhat
reluctant about becoming the leader of the worldwide campaign.

"Holland was hesitant," the official said. In meetings with Rumsfeld last month,
Holland warned that Special Operations Command would need more money
and staff to take on its new role. "Now he has to reorganize, get more
resources, and take on this role," the official said.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company
====================
The World Trade Center Demolition
and the So-Called War on Terrorism
http://serendipity.magnet.ch/wtc.html#preface

"Why of course the people don't want war ... But after all it is the leaders of the country
who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along,
whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist
dictatorship ... Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the
leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and
denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger."
— Hermann Goering, Nazi leader, at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II

• Secret army, one step away from the secret police — THE CUTTING EDGE, Wed Sep 18 17:54