Report Reveals Spread of US War on Al-Qaeda to Six New Countries

Local Editor

A White House report on efforts to target "extremists" abroad shows a broadening use of war powers in the fight against al-Qaeda, beyond military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

The 60-page report shows deployments in over half a dozen new areas - including Somalia, Yemen, Jordan, Niger, Cameroon, Central Africa, the Red Sea, Somalia and South Sudan - with troops on the ground, regular air strikes, and surveillance efforts, all in the name of counterterrorism.

In a presidential memorandum released on Monday, the White House said US military operations are grounded in the October 7, 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force [AUMF], by which Congress approved military operations and counterterrorism combat operations against Al-Qaeda.

Since August 2014, those have expanded to include operations against Daesh [ISIS/ISIL], which was "formerly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq."

The Obama administration's broad use of the 2001 resolution raised concerns about how President-elect Donald Trump might use the authority.

The memo includes some new details about how the Obama administration determines which regions are "areas of active hostilities" or war zones, taking into account not only whether a war has been declared there but also the size and scope of the threat, the scope of US involvement, and threats posed to US forces in the area.

President Barack Obama called for the report to be updated and released publicly on an annual basis.

"The United States has deployed combat-equipped forces to a number of locations in the US Central, Pacifica, European, Southern and African Command areas of operation," said the White House.

"Such operations and deployments ... consistent with Public Law and the War Powers Resolution, and operations and deployments remain ongoing."

"It is not possible to know at this time the precise scope or the duration of the deployments of the US Armed Force necessary to counter terrorist threats to the United States," the memo added.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team