WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is creating a special military
command on the Horn of Africa to monitor and pursue terrorists
trying to transit, hide, train or organize in countries like Yemen
and Somalia, defense officials said Monday.
Yemen is of particular interest, although the U.S.
counterterrorism strategy there goes beyond use of the U.S.
military. Officials said a CIA-operated aircraft fired a Hellfire
missile at a car in northern Yemen on Sunday, killing at least six
terrorists, including al-Qaida's top man in Yemen, Qaed Salim
Sunian al-Harethi.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, while not saying who
conducted the attack, said he understood al-Harethi was among those
reported killed. He said al-Harethi was involved in the October
2000 attack on the USS Cole, the Navy warship bombed while in the
port of Aden, killing 17 sailors.
"It would be a very good thing if he were out of business,"
Rumsfeld told reporters.
To coordinate U.S. military operations against terrorists in
Yemen and elsewhere in the vicinity, the Pentagon is establishing a
Task Force Horn of Africa, to be based in the tiny country of
Djibouti, between Somalia and Ethiopia.
A headquarters element of the 2nd Marine Division, numbering
about 400 troops, will head the command, officials said. It
initially will operate from a Navy ship in the Red Sea, probably
the command ship USS Mount Whitney, for the 60 to 90 days it likely
will take to build a command post ashore.
There already are about 800 Army Special Forces soldiers in
Djibouti. More Marines could be added later, officials said. They
described the arrangement as a significant step forward in the
global war on terrorism, likening the task force to a similar
command running operations in Afghanistan.
Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
confirmed the plan at a Pentagon news conference.
"The Horn of Africa turns out to be a fairly busy place in
terms of the flow of people and other instruments of war - weapons,
explosives, perhaps weapons of mass destruction," he said.
Myers described the Horn of Africa - which includes Sudan,
Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia, as well as Yemen across the Red Sea
- as a region in which "terrorists can gather and either do
operational planning or training.... We're very interested in the
area for that reason and have positioned forces there to take
appropriate action."
The task force is nearly ready to begin operating, Myers said.
U.S. Special Forces soldiers conducted counterterrorism training
with Yemeni forces earlier this year, and Rumsfeld said in a joint
appearance with Myers on Monday that a small number of U.S.
military personnel are still there.
"We have some folks in that country that have been working with
the government and helping them think through ways of doing
things," Rumsfeld said. "It's been a good cooperation, and we've
shared some information and we think that over time it ought to be
beneficial because there is no question but that there are al-Qaida
in Yemen."
Rumsfeld said terrorists have "taken advantage" of sea routes
in and out of Yemen as well as its porous borders.
On other matters related to the war on terrorism, Rumsfeld said:
-More members of the National Guard and Reserve almost certainly
will be called to active duty for a variety of missions. He would
not say specifically whether or when some might be called for a
possible war in Iraq.
-The Pentagon is looking to reduce its dependence on the
National Guard and Reserves for certain skills it expects to need
in the war on terrorism such as civil affairs specialists, few of
whom are in the active military. Thousands would be needed in Iraq
to stabilize the country after a U.S. military invasion to depose
Saddam Hussein.
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