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LONDON – The CIA may be wondering why its phones aren’t ringing as much as they used to. The U.S. military is increasingly gathering its own intelligence.
The New York Times recently reported that General David Petraeus has ordered an expansion of covert missions in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa. Small teams of special operations soldiers will carry out intelligence-gathering missions in both hostile and friendly nations, according to the newspaper.
The goal is to disrupt and destroy growing militant groups in countries such as Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.
“To do their job military commanders need bespoke intelligence so that they can understand for themselves what the big picture is,” said David Livingston, an international security expert with London-based Chatham House think tank. “It’s a classic special forces role, operating in advance of other military units without needing to incorporate other agencies. But they must be very careful. The decision to go in must come from the very highest political level, as the potential for political embarrassment is so high.”
Military officials confirmed that U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) forces are currently conducting “more than 110 missions in around 60 countries.”
'Go in and get out'
While some commentators have expressed concern about the impact Petraeus’ order could have on already fragile political relationships, one special forces soldier said intelligence gathering was in many ways a “stereotypical” mission.
“The ultimate aim of all special forces missions is to go in and get out without anyone ever knowing about it,” he told msnbc.com on condition of anonymity.
USASOC forces have been operating in Philippines for many years in a bid to combat the growing number of fundamentalist cells in the region. In 2009, two U.S. soldiers were killed there when their Humvee hit a roadside bomb. In Somalia, U.S. spy drones are already flying circles over Mogadishu, keeping track of insurgents being trained there.
As the cost of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq grows daily, experts say that gathering intelligence on prospective threats could save lives and dollars in the future.
“By going in early and preventing things from happening you stop the very expensive outcome, both in blood and treasure, of a military intervention later on,” Livingston added.
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Operating in 60 countries...acts of war under international law? Is Obama and that idiot general insane? What would our response be to find that foreign nations are doing to us what we're doing to them? How could we complain? I despise our "new American government" formed by Bush and Obama. Shame on both of them. There will come a time when other nations get even. All through history that has been the case. There is no reason whatsoever to expect that this will be an exception.
If you despise our "new American government" maybe you should move to a different country.
Robtice, Go smoke another bowl you ignorant hippie.
As a former special forces operative. I think it is great that we are now in over 60 countries looking out for what can hurt America. When I was doing that, we were only in about 20 countries. Go Obama, Go Petraeus, you've got my support.
Robtice, you are obviously without a clue to how to prevent terrorists from being able to operate freely. In order to prevent attacks we need actionable intel. Better to disrupt their plans outside the US than in. When are people like you going to understand that the world is jealous of the standard of living in the US and will stop at very little to disrupt it.
Robtice, with the utmost respect, YOU ARE AN IDIOT!!
Robtice, not only an idiot, but a classic traitor to your country and fellow Americans.