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| More on Rummy's new plans |
| 2006-04-23 |
| Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has approved the military's most ambitious plan yet to fight terrorism around the world and retaliate more rapidly and decisively in the event of another major terrorist attack on the United States, according to defense officials. The campaign plan for the global war on terrorism, as well as two subordinate plans also approved within the past month by Rumsfeld, are considered the Pentagon's highest priority, according to officials familiar with the three documents who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Details of the plans are secret, but in general they envision a significantly expanded role for the military -- and in particular a growing force of elite special operations troops -- in continuous operations to combat terrorism outside war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Developed over about three years by the Special Operations Command in Tampa, they reflect a beefing up of the Pentagon's involvement in domains traditionally handled by the CIA and State Department. For example, the operations command post has dispatched small teams of Army Green Berets and other special operations troops to US embassies in more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, where they do operational planning and intelligence gathering to enhance the ability to conduct military operations where the United States is not at war. And in a subtle but important shift contained in a classified order last year, the Pentagon gained the leeway to inform -- rather than gain the approval of -- the US ambassador before conducting military operations in a foreign country, according to several administration officials. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 Last week the media tried to get Rumsfeld to resign but failed. This article is just the WaPo trying to further incite the other Bush bashers. Clearly Rumsfeld is out of control: "most ambitious plan yet", "significantly expanded role for the military", "subtle but important shift", blah blah blah. Here we are, just a couple of days after a CIA leaker gets fired, and the WaPo is tweaking our noses with: "the Pentagon's highest priority, according to officials familiar with the three documents who spoke on the condition of anonymity" and "Details of the plans are secret, but...". Treasonous &@$<@#&s. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-04-23 17:45 |
| #1 I fail to see how any of this is "news"? In reality, this so-called new plan has been in operation for years. Read Kaplan's "Imperial Grunts" |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-04-23 10:42 |