Updated on
Summary
The Pentagon has approved a broader range of secret military operations against militant groups in the Middle East and Africa, The New York Times reported Monday.The newspaper said Gen. David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, signed a directive in September authorizing Special Operations troops to conduct surveillance missions in such countries as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia. The document says the goals are to penetrate, disrupt, defeat or destroy militant groups, including Al-Qaeda, and prepare the environment for future attacks. The Times said the document does not authorize offensive action. Anonymous US officials cited by the Times said the order does allow for intelligence-gathering missions in Iran, which could lay the groundwork for possible military action if tensions between the US and Iran continue to rise. The newspaper said the directive also appeared to authorize specific operations in Iran, most likely to gather intelligence about its nuclear program or identify dissident groups that might be useful for any future military offensive. Some of the covert military operations that followed the secret order have been reported. These include a September 2009 attack by helicopter-borne Special Operations Forces on a car carrying one of east Africa's most wanted al Qaeda militants, Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan. Central Command has been positioning Reaper drones at a base in the Horn of Africa. Officials said the drones can be used against militants in Yemen and Somalia, and even against pirates who attack ships traversing the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
