WASHINGTON -- The White House is partially lifting the lid of secrecy on its
counterterrorism campaign against al-Qaida in Yemen and Somalia by formally
acknowledging for the first time that it is conducting lethal attacks in
those countries.
The White House's semiannual report to Congress on the state of U.S. combat
operations abroad, delivered Friday, mentions what has been widely reported
for years but never formally acknowledged by the administration: The U.S.
military has been taking "direct action" against members of al-Qaida and
affiliates in Yemen and Somalia.
The report does not elaborate, but "direct action" is a military term that
refers to a range of lethal attacks, which in the case of Yemen and Somalia
include attacks by armed drones. The report does not mention drones, which
are remote-controlled, pilotless aircraft equipped with surveillance cameras
and sometimes armed with missiles.
The report applies only to U.S. military operations, including those by
special operations forces -- not those conducted by the CIA.
"In all cases we are focused on those al-Qaida members and affiliates who
pose a direct threat to the United States and to our national interests,"
Pentagon press secretary George Little said after the report's release.The
report does not provide details of any military operations in either Yemen
or Somalia. It merely acknowledges they have happened. Killings of terror
suspects overseas are acknowledged by
the administration, but it does not mention the involvement of drones. The
CIA and military have separate drone fleets.
The decision by President Barack Obama to declassify the existence of the
counterterror actions in those two countries amounts an incremental move
toward greater openness about the use of U.S. force overseas. It does not
reflect any change in the intensity or basic character of the U.S. campaign
to defeat al-Qaida.
A previous step in the direction of greater official transparency came in
April when the White House's counterterrorism chief, John Brennan, made the
first formal confirmation that the U.S. uses armed drones against
terrorists. But he did not mention their use in specific countries.
The new information in Friday's report comes amid outcries from some in
Congress about leaks to the news media about details of classified
activities such as the existence of a White House "kill list" of targeted
al-Qaida militants. The accusation, mostly by Republicans, is that the White
House has orchestrated the leaks to improve Obama's re-election chances, an
allegation the president has rejected as "offensive" and "wrong."
Three administration officials who briefed The Associated Press on the
decision to declassify the existence of the military's counterterrorism
campaigns in Yemen and Somalia said Obama determined that the time was ripe,
in part because the U.S. has built closer relations with the Yemeni
government and with governments interested in eliminating extremist elements
in Somalia. Somalia has not had a fully functioning government since
1991.The officials said the declassification of further details in future
reports to Congress would remain under White House review.
Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the White House is required to
report to Congress every six months on U.S. combat operations abroad.
Friday's report includes a secret attachment with classified details, which
was not released publicly.
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Received on Sat Jun 16 2012 - 15:08:56 EDT
