In what is being viewed by some as a significant move towards
greater transparency, President Obama has officially acknowledged for
the first time previously secret US military combat operations in Yemen
and Somalia.
Out of the shadows? President Obama in the Oval Office 2012 (Official White House photo/ Pete Souza) The
US military has been mounting aggressive combat operations in both
countries for some years. Attacks began in Somalia in January 2007, and
in Yemen in December 2009. The Bureau
monitors operations in both nations,
and its data suggests that as many as 180 combat strikes may have taken
place in both countries. However until now the US would not even admit
that such attacks occurred.
News of the surprise acknowledgment came in a
letter from President Obama
to Congress on the evening of June 15 – a six monthly obligation under
the War Powers Resolution passed in 1973, in which he is required to
inform politicians about US military actions abroad. Obama openly
described ‘direct action’ – military operations – in both Yemen and
Somalia.
The U.S. military has also been working closely with the Yemeni
government to operationally dismantle and ultimately eliminate the
terrorist threat posed by al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the
most active and dangerous affiliate of al-Qa’ida 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.
There were similar references to operations in Somalia, with the
President noting that in ‘a limited number of cases, the US military has
taken direct action in Somalia against members of al-Qa’ida, 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.’
Previously any such details were reported only in a confidential
annex to the reports, with US officials refusing to confirm or deny even
the existence of military strikes – an increasingly bizarre stance
given the widespread reporting of such operations.
The Wall Street Journal noted that much of the impetus for the
partial disclosure came from General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff.
His spokesman
told the paper:
‘When U.S. military forces are involved in combat anywhere in the
world, and information about those operations does not compromise
national or operational security, Gen. Dempsey believes the American
public should be kept appropriately informed.’
But the paper also noted that ‘officials said details about specific
strikes in Yemen and Somalia would continue to be kept secret.’
Continued confusion
The Bureau is one of the few bodies to monitor secret US combat activity in the two countries. In
Somalia, between 10 and 21 US strike operations have killed up to 169 people. And in
Yemen,
the Bureau has recorded 44 confirmed US attacks – with as many as 106
additional strikes. Total Yemen casualties are between 317 and 879
people killed. That range is necessarily broad because the Pentagon will
presently not clarify whether attacks are the work of US or Yemeni
forces.
The US military has variously used airstrikes, naval bombardments and
cruise missile strikes in the two troubled nations. US military drone
attacks only began in 2011. The CIA also operates its own drone fleet in
Yemen – and those operations remain classified.
The unexpected move by Obama is the latest in a series of transparency moves by the administration. It came three days after
26 members of the US Congress
wrote to the president raising serious concerns about the covert drone
strike programme. The politicians – including two Republicans – wrote:
The implications of the use of drones for our national security are
profound. They are faceless ambassadors that cause civilian deaths, and
are frequently the only direct contact with Americans that the targeted
communities have. They can generate powerful and enduring anti-American
sentiment.
The American Civil Liberties Union, while welcoming Obama’s partial
declassification of military strikes in Yemen and Somalia, called for
further disclosure: ‘The public is entitled to more information about
the legal standards that apply, the process by which they add names to
the kill list, and the facts they rely on in order to justify targeted
killings.’
Steve Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists
told the New York Times:
‘While any voluntary disclosure is welcome, this is not much of a
breakthrough. The age of secret wars is over. They were never a secret
to those on the receiving end.’
No comments:
Post a Comment