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Francis Taylor, left, head of the Counter-Terrorism Center of the State Department in Washington
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MANILA,
November 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A senior U.S. counter
terrorism official said Saturday, November 9, that the controversial
CIA-led missile strike, which killed six suspected al-Qaeda members in
Yemen was "legal and necessary" and may be emulated in
Southeast Asia to crush terror groups.
"We
will use whatever is necessary and legal to attack this threat, to
interdict it and eliminate it," Francis Taylor, the U.S. State
Department coordinator for counter terrorism, told a media briefing in
Manila, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Asked
whether the covert and lethal Yemeni missile strike a week ago was
necessary and legal,
Taylor
said: "Sure, the answer is yes.
"Both
legal and the appropriate tool given the circumstances," said
Taylor, who is to attend a counter terrorism conference in
Manila
, after visits to
Australia
,
Indonesia
and
Singapore
.
Six
(alleged) suspected al-Qaeda operatives were killed by a Hellfire
missile launched from a remote-controlled CIA Predator aircraft as they
rode in a vehicle, 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of the Yemeni capital
Sanaa, reports have said.
Among
the dead men was reportedly a senior al-Qaeda leader the
U.S.
claims to be a suspect who masterminded the October 2000 attack on the
U.S.
destroyer Cole, which was rammed by an explosive-laden boat that blew a
hole in its hull and killed 17
U.S.
sailors.
U.S.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz implicitly confirmed that the
United States
was behind the Yemeni missile strike.
While
Wolfowitz called it a "very successful tactical operation,"
some groups raised questions about the legality, effectiveness and
ethics of using a tactic outwardly akin to assassination.
Assassination
is banned by a
U.S.
Presidential executive order.
To
another question,
Taylor
said the
United States
would keep its options open in launching a Yemeni-style strike against
groups and organizations in
Southeast Asia
- regarded as the second front in the U.S.-led coalition's battle
against terrorism after
Afghanistan
.
"For
Yemen
, perhaps that is a military operation and for the
Philippines
, it may be a law enforcement option,"
Taylor
said.
"But
all of those options are on the table, that are available to governments
and regional coalitions to fight against the threat and find the right
tool and right time to get the result we are looking for," he
explained.
U.S.
President George W. Bush asked the international coalition against
terrorists to put "all kinds of power together" to take on the
threat and "to use what is appropriate given the nature of the
threat we face,"
Taylor
said.
The
Southeast Asian region hosts the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group suspected
of a role in the October 12 Bali blast which killed nearly 200 people,
as well as the Filipino Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group which has
beheaded locals and foreigners among their victims.
Some
officials linked the two groups to al-Qaeda network led by Osama bin
Laden. However, there is no evidence to back the claim so far, according
to other officials.
Taylor
dismissed suggestions by some groups that the CIA was behind the
Bali
carnage, saying "it is absolutely ludicrous to think that the
United States
government or any element of the
United States
government will be involved in such a crime against innocent people.
"These
(the attackers) are terrorists, people who want to use political
violence against innocent people to reach their political goals,"
he said.
The
U.S. State Department is the lead federal agency dealing with
international terrorism and
Taylor
's
office has primary responsibilities for developing, coordinating and
implementing
U.S.
counter terrorism policy, officials said.
