By Kenneth J. Theisen
Most people are aware that the United States government is currently engaged in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many are even aware of continuing missile strikes against Pakistan. But most are unaware that the U.S. is also regularly launching other military attacks against other countries as well. These have included Somalia and Syria. These attacks violate international law and must be widely condemned. But for the most part they are only met by silence.
These attacks have been justified by the Bush regime as necessary to prosecute the so-called “war on terror.” But they are really part of a U.S. war of terror against the world.
In 2004, with the approval of President Bush, then Secretary of War Donald Rumsfeld signed a classified order giving the military authority to attack “terrorists” anywhere in the world. This order is known as “Al Qaeda Network Exord.” It allegedly allows U.S. forces to conduct military operations outside officially declared war zones.
Since the issuance of the order, dozens of attacks have been initiated against Pakistan, Syria, and Somalia. Many of the U.S. attacks have been launched by Predator drones firing missiles, but some have also involved the use of U.S. troops against foreign territory.
On October 26, 2008 one of these attacks received more media attention than most. On that day the U.S. invaded Syria, killing eight civilians and possibly kidnapping Syrian nationals and others.
According to the New York Times, U.S. military and intelligence officials admitted nearly a dozen previously undisclosed attacks in several countries have been carried out by the U.S. under Rumsfeld’s order. They also alluded to other “missions”, carried out in Iran under other orders or directives. Many of these attacks seem to be other than missile strikes.
Also according to the Times, the order identifies between 15 and 20 countries, including Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states where al Qaeda operatives may be. Are all these countries possible targets? Each mission requires high-level U.S. government approval. The Times claims that targets in Pakistan and Syria require presidential approval. If so, the President must be giving many such orders as the U.S. attacks Pakistan almost weekly now. The Times claims that the War Department has frequently taken advantage of this executive order. It has allegedly sent U.S. forces into countries including Pakistan, Syria, and Somalia many times. Only a few of these incursions have been previously revealed.
It is clear that the 2004 order was followed by other executive orders as well. The Times revealed that the President in July 2008 approved an order allowing other raids into Pakistan. On September 3, 2008 U.S. Special Operations forces invaded Pakistan and killed about 20 people. Eight were women and children. While the U.S. generally denies responsibility for the raids or claims that only “terrorists” were killed, it is clear many civilians become “collateral damage” in these attacks. That is just one of the reasons that such attacks have caused mass protest in the countries where they have occurred. Even the generally compliant Pakistani government has had to officially protest these raids in order to not be seen as a U.S. lackey by its own people.
The Bush regime has attempted to justify these attacks when they admit them. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff recently claimed that the U.S. should have the right to attack another if it is “harboring” a potential “terrorist threat.” He stated in an address to members of the British Parliament that, “International law must begin to recognize that part of the responsibility of sovereignty is the responsibility to make sure that your own country does not become a platform for attacking other countries.” But his remarks are also an acknowledgment that international law does not recognize the definition put forth by the Bush regime. The U.S. is trying to set the precedentthat the U.S. can be violate other nation’s borders at will if the U.S. “suspects” a given country is not adequately protecting the U.S. from “terrorists.”
Of course Barack Obama appears to agree with the Bush regime. He has repeatedly stated that he will violate Pakistani borders in order to capture or kill “terrorists” who may be in Pakistan. Obama has also called for the increase of U.S. troops by 92,000. He has also called for the “building up” of the military’s Special Operations forces which generally carry out such assassination operations. He also wants to send additional combat brigades into Afghanistan which borders Pakistan.
In effect these various military attacks are part and parcel of the “Bush doctrine,” which the Bush regime has maintained gives the United States the “right” to wage aggressive war anywhere in the name of a “global war on terror.” Bush announced this doctrine in a June 2002 speech at the US Military Academy at West Point. He announced the end for the US military to “be ready to strike at a moment’s notice in any dark corner of the world.” He meant what he said.
Chairman of the joint chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen and Secretary of War Robert Gates have both recently told Congress that victory in Afghanistan is not certain and the US needed to take the fight to the enemy inside Pakistan. Mullen called for a “more comprehensive strategy” embracing both sides of the border. “Until we work more closely with the Pakistani government to eliminate the safe havens from which they operate, the enemy will only keep coming,” Mullen stated. While not expressly calling for violating Pakistani borders, his statement gives support to the Bush regime’s actions.
We must resolutely oppose the Bush doctrine and these military assaults. While the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are just as illegal and even more deadly to the people of those countries, these “mini-wars” are just as illegal and also cause the loss of human life. The U.S. has no right to invade the borders of other countries and as residents of the U.S. we must do what we can to expose and oppose these attacks by our government.