WSWS
A front-page article in Tuesday’s New York Times reveals the existence of a secret directive signed by Gen. David Petraeus, chief of the US Central Command, ordering the expansion of covert military operations throughout the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa. The seven-page document, entitled “Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force Execute Order,” essentially provides the US military with a blank check to carry out aggressive acts against virtually any country.
Issued in September 2009, the order calls for the creation of a network of covert task forces and intelligence-gathering units which will “penetrate, disrupt, defeat or destroy” any target within any country designated by the US military. These forces will carry out clandestine operations which “cannot or will not be accomplished” through other military means.
Once inside the targeted country, US forces will also “prepare the environment” for full-scale military assaults. In addition to military personnel, the Times reports, Petraeus’s order enlists “foreign businesspeople, academics or others” in “persistent situational awareness” efforts—in other words, in spying.
The US will target countries considered hostile as well as countries with which it has maintained friendly relations. Among the countries cited by the Times as potential targets are Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. The Times also reports that the document “appears to authorize specific operations in Iran, most likely to gather intelligence about the country’s nuclear program or identify dissident groups that might be useful for a future military offensive.”