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| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| More troops to Horn of Africa... |
| 2002-11-08 |
| The Pentagon is sending an estimated 1,000 more Americans to help track down al-Qaida around the Horn of Africa, where the yearlong war on terrorism has produced few visible results so far. And the troops could launch missions to catch terrorists in vast lawless areas of the region even if they don't have permission from the local governments, Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke suggested Friday. "There may be circumstances where we go into an ungoverned area in pursuit of al-Qaida, and I'll just leave it at that," she said in response a question at a Pentagon press conference. That sounds fair. The Bad Guys don't consult with the governments before they go in, do they? The amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney — to be used as a floating headquarters off the coast of Djibouti — will leave its Norfolk, Va., homeport Tuesday, officials said. Two days later it will depart with Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., who'll coordinate military operations in the African region, base spokesman Maj. Steve Cox said Friday. "This is ... focused on looking for al-Qaida, looking for terrorist cells and dealing with them expeditiously, and directly," Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Jones said Thursday. I imagine these guys are either going to be very busy or very bored — no in between. I also imagine they'll be spending as much time on operations in Arabia as they do in Africa... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 I have to say that I'm uncomfortable with Marines doing paramilitary work like this. We need the Marines in Iraq. Strikes me that we're using a hammer to swat at a mosquito. If we're going to have a semi-permanent need for ultra-light forces that can move quick and punch out lawless bad guys in the boonies, let's create a force to do that, train and equip them for it, and get going. Mind you, I have nothing against the Marines -- I'd be happy to buy any of them a beer. I just want us to have the right tool for the job. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2002-11-08 22:53:54 |