By ROBERT BURNS
June 16, 2012 AP
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 of art 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. "This report contains information
about these operations owing to their growing significance in our overall
counterterrorism effort."
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.
The last report, on Dec. 15, 2011,
made no mention of Yemen or Somalia. Instead it said that in relation to
efforts against al-Qaida, the U.S. was working with partners "with a
particular focus on countries within the U.S. Central Command's area of
responsibility," which is a broad swath of territory that includes the
entire Middle East and Central Asia.
Friday's report was more explicit.
It said that in Somalia the U.S. military has worked to counter the terrorist
threat posed by al-Qaida and al-Qaida-associated elements of a militant group
called al-Shabaab.
"In a limited number of
cases, the U.S. military has taken direct action in Somalia against members of
al-Qaida, including those who are also members of al-Shabaab, who are engaged
in efforts to carry out terrorist attacks against the United States and our
interests," it said.
It said the U.S. military also has
been working closely with the Yemeni government to "operationally
dismantle and ultimately eliminate" the terrorist threat posed by al-Qaida
in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP.
It called AQAP "the most
active and dangerous affiliate of al-Qaida today."
"Our joint efforts have
resulted in direct action against a limited number of AQAP operatives and
senior leaders in that country who posed a terrorist threat to the United States
and our interests," the report said.
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