from nytimes.com: As the United States turns increasingly to Special Operations forces to confront developing threats scattered around the world, the nation’s top Special Operations officer, a member of the Navy Seals who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, is seeking new authority to move his forces faster and outside of normal Pentagon deployment channels.
The officer, Adm. William H. McRaven, who leads the Special Operations Command, is pushing for a larger role for his elite units who have traditionally operated in the dark corners of American foreign policy. The plan would give him more autonomy to position his forces and their war-fighting equipment where intelligence and global events indicate they are most needed.
It would also allow the Special Operations forces to expand their presence in regions where they have not operated in large numbers for the past decade, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
While President Obama and his Pentagon’s leadership have increasingly made Special Operations forces their military tool of choice, similar plans in the past have foundered because of opposition from regional commanders and the State Department. The military’s regional combatant commanders have feared a decrease of their authority, and some ambassadors in crisis zones have voiced concerns that commandos may carry out missions that are perceived to tread on a host country’s sovereignty, like the rift in ties with Pakistan after the Bin Laden raid.
Showing posts with label state dept. Show all posts
Showing posts with label state dept. Show all posts
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
US preparing more sanctions against iran over saudi murder plot
will US exploit dubious terror case to attack iran?
from kurt nimmo: On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced it had uncovered a plot by Iran to enlist a member of a Mexican drug cartel to kill Saudi Arabia’s envoy in Washington, D.C. The FBI and the DEA uncovered the plot, according to officials. The FBI has a long track record of using informers and agents provocateurs to entrap dupes who are then described as dangerous terrorists.
Manssor Arbabsiar, a naturalized U.S. citizen holding an Iranian passport, allegedly arranged for the assassination by contacting a man he thought worked for a Mexican drug cartel, but was in fact a DEA agent. Arbabsiar was arrested on September 29 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport...
Gholam Shakuri, described as Arbabsiar’s contact, has also been charged in connection with the alleged plot but remains at large.
The plot was not Arbabsiar’s idea. It was suggested by the DEA agent, who told Arbabsiar that he would need four men to carry out the assassination and that his price was $1.5 million, according to Channel 6 News.
At the State Department, Hillary Clinton praised what amounted to entrapment. “It was a terrific achievement by our law enforcement and intelligence communities, and we will be consulting with our friends and partners around the world about how we can send a very strong message that this kind of action, which violates international norms, must be ended,” she said.
The U.S. will now use the case to call for more severe sanctions against Iran. The current sanctions are considered weak and unlikely to stop Iran from continuing its nuclear energy program. China, Russia, India and Turkey have resisted more stringent sanctions that endanger business deals with Iran.
related updates:
wheels come off phony iran terror plot*
iranian terror plot: fake, fake, fake*
video: some analysts skeptical of alleged iranian plot*
gilad shalit prisoner exchange deal reached with hamas, says netanyahu*
1 israeli soldier = 1,000 hamas fighters*
from kurt nimmo: On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced it had uncovered a plot by Iran to enlist a member of a Mexican drug cartel to kill Saudi Arabia’s envoy in Washington, D.C. The FBI and the DEA uncovered the plot, according to officials. The FBI has a long track record of using informers and agents provocateurs to entrap dupes who are then described as dangerous terrorists. Manssor Arbabsiar, a naturalized U.S. citizen holding an Iranian passport, allegedly arranged for the assassination by contacting a man he thought worked for a Mexican drug cartel, but was in fact a DEA agent. Arbabsiar was arrested on September 29 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport...
Gholam Shakuri, described as Arbabsiar’s contact, has also been charged in connection with the alleged plot but remains at large.
The plot was not Arbabsiar’s idea. It was suggested by the DEA agent, who told Arbabsiar that he would need four men to carry out the assassination and that his price was $1.5 million, according to Channel 6 News.
At the State Department, Hillary Clinton praised what amounted to entrapment. “It was a terrific achievement by our law enforcement and intelligence communities, and we will be consulting with our friends and partners around the world about how we can send a very strong message that this kind of action, which violates international norms, must be ended,” she said.
The U.S. will now use the case to call for more severe sanctions against Iran. The current sanctions are considered weak and unlikely to stop Iran from continuing its nuclear energy program. China, Russia, India and Turkey have resisted more stringent sanctions that endanger business deals with Iran.
related updates:
wheels come off phony iran terror plot*
iranian terror plot: fake, fake, fake*
video: some analysts skeptical of alleged iranian plot*
gilad shalit prisoner exchange deal reached with hamas, says netanyahu*
1 israeli soldier = 1,000 hamas fighters*
Monday, April 18, 2011
US secretly backing syrian opposition since 2006
US fears syrian reprisals after wikileaks disclosure
from reuters: The State Department has secretly funded Syrian opposition groups, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, The Washington Post reported on Monday.
The cables show that the State Department has funneled as much as $6 million since 2006 to a group of Syrian exiles to operate a London-based satellite channel, Barada TV, and finance activities inside Syria, the Post said.
Barada TV began broadcasting in April 2009 but has ramped up operations to cover the mass protests in Syria that began last month as part of a long-standing campaign to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad the Post said.
The U.S. money for Syrian opposition figures began flowing under President George W. Bush after political ties with Damascus were frozen in 2005, the newspaper said.
The financial backing has continued under President Barack Obama, even as his administration sought to rebuild relations with Assad, the Post said. In January, the White House posted an ambassador to Damascus for the first time in six years.
The article said it is unclear whether the United States was still funding Syrian opposition groups, but the cables indicate money was set aside at least through September 2010.
from reuters: The State Department has secretly funded Syrian opposition groups, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, The Washington Post reported on Monday.The cables show that the State Department has funneled as much as $6 million since 2006 to a group of Syrian exiles to operate a London-based satellite channel, Barada TV, and finance activities inside Syria, the Post said.
Barada TV began broadcasting in April 2009 but has ramped up operations to cover the mass protests in Syria that began last month as part of a long-standing campaign to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad the Post said.
The U.S. money for Syrian opposition figures began flowing under President George W. Bush after political ties with Damascus were frozen in 2005, the newspaper said.
The financial backing has continued under President Barack Obama, even as his administration sought to rebuild relations with Assad, the Post said. In January, the White House posted an ambassador to Damascus for the first time in six years.
The article said it is unclear whether the United States was still funding Syrian opposition groups, but the cables indicate money was set aside at least through September 2010.
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