Report: US raided Syria several times
NY Times reveals October 26 American commando operation wasn't first of its kind. Since war in Iraq began, military has used broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a dozen attacks against al-Qaeda, other militants in Syria, Pakistan, elsewhere
WASHINGTON – The American commando operation in Syria on October 26 was not the first time Special Operation troops operated in that country following the war in Iraq and the flow of Arab terrorists from Syria to Iraq, the New York Times reported Monday, quoting senior US military officials.
According to the report, since the Iraq war began, Special Operations forces have several times made cross-border raids aimed at militants and infrastructure aiding the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq.
The raid in late October, however, was much more noticeable than the previous raids, military officials said, drawing a sharp protest from the Syrian government. Similar operations in the past were not revealed as the Syrians kept silent.
Since 2004, the reports said, the United States military has used broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a dozen previously undisclosed attacks against al-Qaeda and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere.
These military raids, typically carried out by Special Operations forces, were authorized by a classified order that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed in the spring of 2004 with the approval of President Bush, the officials said.
The secret order gave the military new authority to attack the al-Qaeda terrorist network anywhere in the world, and a more sweeping mandate to conduct operations in countries not at war with the United States.
The 2004 order identifies 15 to 20 countries, including Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and several other Persian Gulf states, where al-Qaeda militants were believed to be operating or to have sought sanctuary, a senior administration official told the paper.
Negotiations to hammer out the 2004 order took place over nearly a year and involved wrangling between the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department about the military’s proper role around the world, several administration officials said.
Senior officials of the State Department and the CIA voiced fears that military commandos would encroach on their turf, conducting operations that historically the CIA had carried out, and running missions without an ambassador’s knowledge or approval.
No raids into Iran
Even with the order, each specific mission requires high-level government approval. Targets in Somalia, for instance, need at least the approval of the defense secretary, the administration official said, while targets in a handful of countries, including Pakistan and Syria, require presidential approval.
The Pentagon has exercised its authority frequently, dispatching commandos to countries including Pakistan and Somalia, the report said.
Some of the military missions have been conducted in close coordination with the CIA, according to senior American officials, who said that in others, like the Special Operations raid in Syria on October 26, the military commandos acted in support of CIA-directed operations.
According to the New York Times, there had been no raids into Iran using that authority, but the American officials suggested that US forces had carried out reconnaissance missions in Iran using other classified directives.
