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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWho Are We at War With? That’s Classified
In a major national security speech this spring, President Obama said again and again that the U.S. is at war with Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their associated forces.
So who exactly are those associated forces? Its a secret.
At a hearing in May, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., asked the Defense Department to provide him with a current list of Al Qaeda affiliates.
The Pentagon responded but Levins office told ProPublica they arent allowed to share it. Kathleen Long, a spokeswoman for Levin, would say only that the departments answer included the information requested.
A Pentagon spokesman told ProPublica that revealing such a list could cause serious damage to national security.
Because elements that might be considered associated forces can build credibility by being listed as such by the United States, we have classified the list, said the spokesman, Lt. Col. Jim Gregory. We cannot afford to inflate these organizations that rely on violent extremist ideology to strengthen their ranks.
Its not an abstract question: U.S. drone strikes and other actions frequently target associated forces, as has been the case with dozens of strikes against an Al Qaeda offshoot in Yemen.
During the May hearing, Michael Sheehan, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, said he was not sure there is a list per se. Describing terrorist groups as murky and shifting, he said, it would be difficult for the Congress to get involved in trying to track the designation of which are the affiliate forces of Al Qaeda.
http://www.propublica.org/article/who-are-we-at-war-with-thats-classified
bemildred
(90,061 posts)RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)We kill anybody we want...
But we don't torture anybody anymore. Promise! We are much better now. The blue pill helps. A lot!
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)If we are at war, where are the attacks? Is war now one-sided. Is a program to kill those with opposing views a war?
sarisataka
(18,616 posts)We've always been at war with Eastasia