Plan Of Attack
The Pentagon has a secret new strategy for taking on terrorists--and taking them down
UNITAS (South America): Annual naval exercise to increase regional maritime cooperation among South American countries.
PLAN COLOMBIA (Colombia): Counternarcotics and counterterrorism to fight Colombian narcoterrorist group FARC and others; also aimed at reducing potential for terrorists to seek safe havens in the region's ungoverned areas.
EUROPEAN COMMAND (also covers Western Africa)
FLINTLOCK (Saharan Morocco, Algeria, Chad, Niger, Tunisia, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria): 1,000 U.S. troops, including 700 special operations forces, trained 3,000 African soldiers in airborne operations, border patrol, and marksmanship to fight, among other things, terrorist threats, including al Qaeda-linked groups. One quarter of foreign militants in Iraq come from Africa.
TRANS SAHARAN COUNTERTERRORISM INITIATIVE (Saharan Morocco, Algeria, Chad, Niger, Tunisia, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria): A $500 million, five-year program to train battalions of 500 soldiers and equip them with trucks, radios, and global positioning devices to track terrorists. After 9/11, the first stage began with U.S.10th Special Forces Group training and equipping six companies of 150 soldiers.
EUROPEAN COMMAND
GEORGIA TRAIN & EQUIP: Since May 2002, U.S. Special Forces and U.S. Marines have trained 2,600 soldiers and support staff to fight transnational terrorist cells from Chechnya and Uzbekistan.
SORBET ROYAL (East Mediterranean): NATO's maritime effort to fight international terrorism. In October 2001 eight NATO ships contacted 1,000 vessels to search for terrorists.
IMMEDIATE RESPONSE (Bulgaria): Bilateral training with U.S. forces; U.S. European Command tests its rapid deployment.
TRIAL HAMMER (Germany, France): April 2005. NATO's first demonstration of joint signals intelligence capability.
CENTRAL COMMAND
EBONY FLAME (Djibouti): Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups have used the Horn of Africa for safe haven and transit. Americans train and patrol with Djiboutian forces to help secure their borders with Somalia, believed to hold al Qaeda training camps.
NOBLE PIPER (Kenya): U.S. Special Forces 3rd Group trained with Kenyan Rangers; joint sea patrols with the U.S. Navy were conducted to stop al Qaeda from crossing the Gulf of Aden.
EAGER TIGER and EAGER LIGHT (Jordan): The primary U.S. joint exercises with Jordan in 2005 focus on counterterrorism, border security, and expanding Jordan's role as a center for regional cooperation.
EARNEST LEADER (Saudi Arabia): Annual exercise with Royal Saudi Land Forces and Third U.S. Army to practice command and control of coalition operations and to foster regional security and peacekeeping.
INSPIRED VENTURE, GAMBIT, SIREN, UNION (Pakistan): Exercises, including sea patrols and air-assault training held in tribal provinces, where al Qaeda leaders are believed to hide.
SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
HQ: Tampa, Florida; TROOPS: 51,000
Acts as "synchronizer" of regional commands' counterterrorism plans; writes global campaign plan; prioritizes deployments; conducts global "operational preparation of the environment;" carries out counterterror ops with special operations and other forces as directed; FY06 budget $6.5 billion
PACIFIC COMMAND
BALIKATAN (Philippines): Annual exercise to improve joint combat readiness, shore up Philippine defenses, and confront terrorist groups such as Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya. The United States conducts some 20 exercises annually with the Philippines. In 2005, Balikatan included 300 American and 650 Philippine forces; Thailand, Singapore, and other Asian countries also have participated.
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