By John J. Lumpkin
Aug 30, 2004, 07:55
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_5147.shtml
Opening a rare window into a secret world, the CIA and the Pentagon are publicly fighting a proposal to centralize under Defense Department control the U.S. covert paramilitary operations used increasingly in recent years in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
The commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks recommended the change, but CIA and defense leaders insist they are not convinced of the need. They say CIA paramilitaries and military special operations forces each have distinct capabilities but work well together.
Besides, they say, there are some things that only the CIA can do.
"I would not accept that recommendation," acting Director of Central Intelligence John McLaughlin testified to senators recently. "I think we have a perfect marriage now of CIA and military capabilities. CIA brings to the mix agility and speed. Military brings lethality."
The Sept. 11 commissioners had argued that having two such organizations within the government was redundant.
"Whether the price is measured in either money or people, the United States cannot afford to build two separate capabilities for carrying out secret military operations, secretly operating standoff missiles and secretly training foreign military or paramilitary forces," their report says.
"The United States should concentrate responsibility and necessary legal authorities in one entity."
The commissioners described a CIA plan in early 1998 to go after al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden using operatives from the spy agency and the military. The plan was ultimately scrubbed after senior CIA officials and some military officers registered concerns at the risks to U.S. forces and civilians.
Paramilitary operations include training pro-U.S. government or rebel forces, destablizing governments and organizations through violence, and direct attacks on enemy targets and people.
Such operations sometimes are overseen by the CIA and sometimes by special military units such as the Green Berets. Which is used depends on the situation, the need for secrecy and the number of people required.
The CIA's paramilitary force was small before Sept. 11 but has expanded rapidly since. In contrast, the military's Special Operations Command numbers 49,000 people, including reservists, support personnel and 3,000 civilians.
One key distinction between the two is how they are ordered into action. Special operations troops are subject to the military chain of command, and also to various laws and international treaties governing the use of armed forces.
For the CIA paramilitaries to go into action, the president must sign a secret document called a "finding" that governs their activities, and designated congressional leaders are informed.
Thus, those forces are used more often when secrecy is paramount.
McLaughlin said the CIA director also has broader authority than the military to buy equipment to support paramilitary operations, because the agency can avoid the competitive bidding process to get gear to the field quickly.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is also cool to the idea of putting all paramilitary operations under his department's control.
"There are clearly things that the Central Intelligence Agency does that are covert that the Department of Defense ought not to do," he said.
Gen. Richard Myers said, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, "There is not a lot of enthusiasm at this point for that kind of change," suggesting there's a limit on what uniformed U.S. military personnel should be allowed to do.
The CIA's paramilitaries are part of the agency's covert operations arm, called the Special Activities Division. Some unit members specialize in propaganda and economic and political disruption. Others, members of the Special Operations Group, are true warriors.
One such paramilitary was Johnny "Mike" Spann, the first American to die in combat in Afghanistan, killed during a 2001 prison uprising.
Unlike the Green Berets, the CIA officers can operate without uniforms or identification as U.S. government employees. If any are caught or killed, the government can plausibly deny involvement.
Also unlike most military special operations forces, women are among the CIA's paramilitary ranks.
In recent decades, the paramilitary force has seen heavy use in Central America, Angola and Afghanistan.
© 2004 The Associated Press
© Copyright 2004 by Capitol Hill Blue -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <../attachments/20040830/e6357ec9/attachment.htm>