Barack Obama grants CIA permission to retain right to carry out renditions (abductions)

So...you say Obama is off to a "good" start, because he has ordered the closing of Guantanamo Bay, BUT the following is the REAL story...

February 2, 2009

Barack Obama grants CIA permission to retain right to carry out renditions (abductions)...

An international crime

Forced removals: hundreds of terrorism suspects have been transferred by the US to prisons in countries with questionable human rights records

The banner headlines greeting President Obama’s decision to close the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay and secret CIA prisons may have concealed how he has retained one of the most controversial weapons in the War on Terror.

Under executive orders signed on January 22, the CIA appears to have preserved its authority to carry out renditions – by which hundreds of terrorist suspects have been abducted and transferred to prisons in countries with questionable human rights records such as Egypt, Morocco or Jordan.

The measure, disclosed by the Los Angeles Times yesterday, gives some indication of how Mr Obama’s promise of change may be slower to be realised than once hoped, with the new Administration coming under concerted attack across a range of issues.

These include efforts to get bipartisan backing for a near-$900 billion (£620 billion) economic stimulus programme and the choice for Health Secretary of Tom Daschle, whose failure to pay back taxes has jarred with pledges to restore ethical government.

An administration official was quoted yesterday defending rendition. “Obviously you need to preserve some tools. You still have to go after the bad guys,” said the official. “It is controversial in some circles. But if done within certain parameters, it is acceptable.”

The European Parliament has condemned renditions, some of which have involved flights with stopovers in British territory, as illegal under international law.

In the executive orders the President merely promised a review of rendition policy, with the intention of ensuring that suspects were not sent to other countries “to face torture”. Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, suggested yesterday that suspects would be held only temporarily in foreign prisons, but added: “The finer points of it have to be fleshed out.”

Clive Stafford Smith, the director of Reprieve, the British human rights group, said: “Western liberals are totally deluded at the moment. Like George Bush, who declared ‘mission accomplished’ on Iraq six years ago, they need to realise that the job is far from done. I believe that Obama’s heart is in the right place but he is surrounded by people in the US intelligence and military who don’t want either themselves or their policies subjected to too much scrutiny.”

Claude Moraes, the Labour MEP who was part of the European committee investigating CIA renditions, said that it was hard to criticise Mr Obama because he had “godlike status at the moment”, adding: “We should be pleased he has closed Guantánamo and acknowledged the existence of the secret CIA prisons. But if he’s going to complete the change, he must see that rendition is part of the package. I have heard testimony from people who have clearly been tortured in Egypt and Jordan. To deposit people in those prisons still speaks volumes about American foreign policy.”

Mr Obama, who has disappointed liberal activists by his reluctance to order investigations into alleged illegal acts carried out in the name of national security by the Bush Adminstration, also knows he must brace a war-weary public for a build-up of the battle against the Taleban and al-Qaeda.

His primary focus, however, remains domestic affairs, with the Senate preparing to debate the economic stimulus Bill today amid warnings that there is scant support from Republicans. Last night Mr Obama was hosting a party to watch the Super Bowl at the White House with senior congressmen from both sides of the aisle in the hope of restoring some bipartisan lustre. This week he is also expected to nominate the Republican Senator Judd Gregg as Commerce Secretary.

Last week, however, he failed to win a single Republican vote for the stimulus package in the House of Representatives. Senator Jon Kyl, a senior Republican, toldFox Newsyesterday that conservatives were becoming angry at the vast – and potentially wasteful – public spending proposed.

Mr Kyl was among Republicans asking how Mr Daschle failed to inform Mr Obama’s team about a failure to pay $128,203 in back taxes until a few weeks ago, when the Health Secretary-designate was aware of the mistake as far back as June last year.

- President Obama’s half-brother George has insisted that he is not a drug user, after being arrested but then released for alleged marijuana possession in a Kenyan slum. He spent two hours in a police cell before being set free on Saturday.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5636297.ece

Obama Call for More NATO Troops in Afghanistan May Go Unheeded 02 Feb 2009 President Barack Obama has made clear he is counting on America’s NATO allies for greater military contributions in Afghanistan. He may be in for a disappointment. Most European leaders have either ruled out sending more troops to buttress the fight against a resurgent Taliban, or talked about increases that number only in the hundreds.[WHY are we in Afghanistan? Oh, that's right. To keep the opium routes and gas pipelines flowing.]

US Special Forces Unconventional Warfare Operations: overthrowing governments, sabotage, subversion, intelligence and abduction

January 27, 2009

File us-fm3-05-201.pdf

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Summary

FM 3-05.201: Special Forces Unconventional Warfare Operations is current US military doctrine (policy) on the use of indigenous or surrogate forces to overthrow a foreign government and the use of sabotage, subversion, intelligence, extra-territorial abductions and similar activities, the most well known example of which is the US involvement in Nicaragua. There is also a section on legalities, including abductions ("The United States reserves the right to engage in nonconsensual abductions for three specific reasons.."). The 296 page manual was made doctrine in April 2003 by Army Headquarters, Washington DC.

Introduction:

FM 3-05.20 defines UW as a broad spectrum of military and paramilitary operations, predominantly conducted through, with, or by indigenous or surrogate forces organized, trained, equipped, supported, and directed in varying degrees by an external source. UW includes, but is not limited to, guerrilla warfare (GW), sabotage, subversion, intelligence activities, and unconventional assisted recovery (UAR).

1-43. There are seven phases to a U.S.-sponsored insurgency (Figure 1-1, page 1-12). They are preparation, initial contact, infiltration, organization, buildup, combat employment, and demobilization. Although each insurgency is unique, U.S. sponsorship of a resistance organization generally passes through the seven phases.

1-3. Guerrilla warfare consists of military and paramilitary operations conducted by irregular, predominantly indigenous forces against superior forces in enemy-held or hostile territory. It is the overt military aspect of an insurgency.

1-4. Sabotage is an act or acts with intent to injure or obstruct the national defense of a nation by willfully damaging or destroying any national defense or war materiel, premises, or utilities, including human and natural resources. It may also refer to actions taken to injure or obstruct the military capability of an occupying power. Sabotage may be the most effective or the only means of attacking specific targets beyond the capabilities of conventional weapon systems. Sabotage selectively disrupts, destroys, or neutralizes hostile capabilities with a minimum of manpower and material resources. SF conducts sabotage unilaterally through indigenous or surrogate personnel. Sabotage is also a form of effects-based targeting performed by SF personnel.

1-5. Subversion is any action designed to undermine the military, economic, psychological, or political strength or morale of a regime. All elements of the resistance organization contribute to the subversive effort, but the clandestine nature of subversion dictates that the underground will do the bulk of the activity. Subversion is a form of effects-based targeting on human terrain.

1-9. UW has taken on new significance for several reasons. Historically, SF units have focused on UW as a part of general war. Now, the U.S. policy of supporting selected resistance movements requires SF to focus on UW during conflicts short of war. Also, global urbanization provides for a shift in emphasis from rural guerrilla warfare to all aspects of clandestine resistance including urban and border operations. Training and support for these operations may come from the joint special operations area (JSOA) or from an external training or support site. Some scenarios may dictate a traditional role reversal--the urban guerrilla may conduct most of the operations while supported by the rural guerrilla.

1-10. UW is the most challenging of SF missions because it involves protracted operations with joint forces, allied forces, indigenous or surrogate forces, U.S. agencies, or elements of all of these entities. UW involves detailed, centralized planning and coordination from the SFODA through the Secretary of Defense, and ultimately, decentralized execution.

Distribution restriction:

Distribution authorized to U.S. Government agencies only to protect technical or operational information from automatic dissemination under the International Exchange Program or by other means. This determination was made on 15 March 2003. Other requests for this document must be referred to Commander, United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, ATTN: AOJK-DT-SFD, Fort Bragg, North Carolina 28310-5000. DESTRUCTION NOTICE: Destroy by any method that must prevent disclosure of contents or reconstruction of the document.

See Counterinsurgency for additional information.

https://secure.wikileaks.org/wiki/US_Special_Forces_Unconventional_Warfare_Operations:_overthrowing_governments,_sabotage,_subversion,_intelligence_and_abduction,_FM_3-05.201,_Apr_2003