Rumsfeld Wants More Covert Action Against Al-Qaeda
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Rumsfeld issued a classified memo ordering the use of special forces against al-Qaeda worldwide. |
WASHINGTON,
Aug 2 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.S. Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld wants more al-Qaeda members captured or killed and has
ordered his top special operations general to accelerate covert
missions to that end, The Washington Times newspaper said Friday.
Issuing
a classified command to the U.S. Special Operations command, Rumsfeld
tasked the head of the unit, General Charles Holland, with devising a
plan to that effect.
Holland’
plan, dubbed "the first 30 percent," calls for new types of
clandestine operations against terrorists that can be launched quickly
and fall "outside restrictions of traditional law
enforcement," said the daily.
Officials
familiar with Holland's plan said Rumsfeld wants his covert warriors
to be unrestrained by law enforcement approval procedures, which can
delay operations for months.
"Rumsfeld
wants to stay as far away from law enforcement as possible," one
source told the daily, adding that the Secretary wants "new
thinking," wanting to see more clandestine missions undertaken by
Special Operations, which he believes can be more innovative, reports
CNN.
The
Secretary, three administration sources told the conservative daily,
is not happy at the rate al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters are being
tracked down and eliminated in Afghanistan the U.S. Central Command
under General Tommy Franks, who is running the war.
Some
Rumsfeld advisers consider Franks too cautious, the daily added.
Under
Rumsfeld's instructions, Holland will have a bigger say in which types
of special-operations missions are run in Afghanistan, and new powers
to organize specific missions.
The
memo lists not only Osama bin Laden but another half dozen or so top
al-Qaeda leaders who are believed to pose the greatest threat to
coordinate and order new terrorist attacks on the United States,
sources told CNN.
In
addition, Special Operations could now take missions into any country
where U.S. intelligence believes top al-Qaeda leadership is hiding,
reports the television cable news network.
"The
thirty percent plan," is so called because it reflects about
one-third of the total plan Holland is developing, the daily said.
Holland
was expected to brief Rumsfeld on the new plan for going after enemy
forces soon, perhaps as early as Friday, the newspaper said, adding
that the plan ultimately must be approved by U.S. President George W.
Bush, with any missions bordering on assassination approved by
Rumsfeld or Bush as well, reports news agencies.
The
special-operations forces include the elite Army Delta Force, Army
Green Berets and Navy SEALs.
There
was no immediate comment on the report from the Pentagon concerning
the plan.
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