U.S. Ordered Secret Raids of Al-Qaeda in Any Country
The New YorkTimes has revealed that the recent U.S. anti-terrorism strikes in Syria and Pakistan were not part of targeted border-crossings authorized on a case-by-case basis, but rather as part of a secret order giving the C.I.A. and Special Operations Forces the power to go into any country where al-Qaeda is located. The order was enacted by Donald Rumsfeld in 2004 with President Bush’s approval.
I have written a few posts on the implications of the United States’ most recent (known) raid, which has had very negative impacts not only in relations between the U.S. and Syria, but in relations between Iraq and Syria, and even between the U.S. and Iraq. Syria was included on the list of countries suspected to have al-Qaeda elements within its borders.
This approval was not used indiscriminately, however, as many such operations have been canceled (“as many as a dozen” according to the NYT), and still required high-level approval.
Now that this order is public knowledge, the political fallout, both domestic and international, will be interesting to see. This may support widespread feeling in the Middle East that the United States and other Western states have used their military power with impunity to advance its interests abroad. However, some may also argue that these raids take the burden off of some countries to shoulder the anti-terrorism security concerns or that it improves security (as the U.S. will certainly argue). Many feel that the Syria border-crossing was in the best interests of Iraq’s security, for instance. However, it is difficult to imagine the latter being the majority view, particularly with governments trying to assert legitimacy and sovereignty.
Joshua Bark
