Global command considered
By Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is considering creation of a global command to fight a lengthy war on terrorism, a sure sign that the Pentagon is contemplating covert combat in countries other than Afghanistan.
Administration officials say Mr. Rumsfeld has met several times with Gen. Charles R. Holland, who heads U.S. Special Operations Command, about forming a command or centering the anti-terrorism effort at the general's headquarters at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.
Giving Gen. Holland, or another four-star officer, command of the anti-terror war would avoid shifting responsibility from commander to commander as anti-terror operations move from region to region. The principal war-fighting commanders, known as commanders in chief, or cincs, are assigned their own turf, such as Pacific or European command.
The Bush administration is in the early stages of discussing covert intelligence operations or actions by U.S. commandos, or their foreign surrogates, around the world. These actions likely would not come until President Bush meets his first objective: ousting the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan and eliminating Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network. The locations include:
• South America — The administration is collecting evidence of al Qaeda operatives involved in cocaine trafficking in Paraguay and Colombia. Islamic fundamentalist cells are operating in a tri-border area of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Evidence has been found of al Qaeda members in this no man's land, a senior administration official says.
• South America — The administration is collecting evidence of al Qaeda operatives involved in cocaine trafficking in Paraguay and Colombia. Islamic fundamentalist cells are operating in a tri-border area of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Evidence has been found of al Qaeda members in this no man's land, a senior administration official says.
