Secret Order Lets U.S. Raid Al Qaeda

The New York TImes reported today, Secret Order Lets U.S. Raid Al Qaeda

"The United States military since 2004 has used broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a dozen previously undisclosed attacks against Al Qaeda and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere, according to senior American officials. These military raids, typically carried out by Special Operations forces, were authorized by a classified order that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed in the spring of 2004 with the approval of President Bush, the officials said. The secret order gave the military new authority to attack the Qaeda terrorist network anywhere in the world, and a more sweeping mandate to conduct operations in countries not at war with the United States."

"According to a senior administration official, the new authority was spelled out in a classified document called “Al Qaeda Network Exord,” or execute order, that streamlined the approval process for the military to act outside officially declared war zones. Where in the past the Pentagon needed to get approval for missions on a case-by-case basis, which could take days when there were only hours to act, the new order specified a way for Pentagon planners to get the green light for a mission far more quickly, the official said."

Maybe I've been watching too much James Bond or TV (well The Unit did have a plot how they aren't authorized to go into Syria) , but I don't understand why it should take days to get such approval (given reasonable cause). Is Bush that hard to find? And I don't think the solution to it taking too long to get approval, to no longer need to get any approval. It's their same excuse for warrantless wiretaps. Maybe it wasn't so bad...

"Even with the order, each specific mission requires high-level government approval. Targets in Somalia, for instance, need at least the approval of the defense secretary, the administration official said, while targets in a handful of countries, including Pakistan and Syria, require presidential approval."