Officials in the Pentagon are discussing the possibility of putting elite special operations troops under CIA control in Afghanistan after the 2014 pullout, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.
Once SEALS, Rangers, and other elite unites are assigned to CIA control they are considered to be spies.
Under the plan, therefore, the US could technically claim there are no more troops on the ground in Afghanistan.
The idea was presented by senior defence intelligence officials and comes as US defence chiefs are trying to figure out ways to meet the White House’s promised pullout deadline of 2014.
The Pentagon has already put forward a plan to hand over the fighting to special-operations. The current idea being floated around would take that plan even further, and shrink US presence to less than 20,000 troops after 2014 according to multiple US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Sources added though that the plan has not yet been presented to US secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, the White House or Congress.
Pentagon spokesperson, George Little, however, denied any discussion is taking place on the matter.
“Any suggestion that such a plan exists is simply wrong,” he said on Saturday.
Reducing troop presence faster in Afghanistan, albeit cosmetically, could prove to be advantageous for both the White House and the Afghan government, given raw Afghan sentiment over recent incidents ranging from civilian casualties to the burning of the Holy Quran at a military base.
Loopholes
The plan is not novel, nor without glitches. Elite-special operations units have been assigned to the CIA for missions where the US wants total deniability and works without the local government’s permission.
This included the Abbottabad raid of Osama bin Laden’s house in Pakistan.
A CIA run war would also mean the US public would not be informed about funding or operations.
Oversight of the war would be in the hands of intelligence officials, the White House and a few congressional committees.
Meanwhile, senior special operations commanders also like to keep their troops under legal parameters.
If troops were captured while working with the CIA, they would be treated like spies, and not protected by the Geneva Conventions, which govern the treatment of prisoners of war.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 4th, 2012.
COMMENTS (11)
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I hope ISAF and US forces stay for another decade to stabilize the region and rid Afghanistan of pseudo Islamists, drug Mafia and other non state actors with their evil designs.
http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/13358 Global Intelligence Gate: From Confessions of an Economic Hit Man to the Stratfor Corporation
Nothing new here. A very developed pattern or model is being followed. In Iraq, while there “NO AMERICAN TROOPS”, there are 20’000 “diplomatic staff”. This number may or may not include “contractors” of the Raymond Davis type, licensed to kill. By the way, often the contractors are psychopathic killers from Eastern Europe.
"A CIA run war would also mean the US public would not be informed about funding or operations" .. that pretty much gives CIA the green light to do whatever they want. this could get really bad real quick and one should expect more strikes like Abbotabad... especially in the fata.
Someone must have leaked a memo written by another lawyer who has lots of school learning and no common sense. The USA is likely to leave one or more large air base(s) with attack helicopters, fighter bombers, and special ops -- pretty hard to deny that they have left troops with a footprint like that.
keep dreaming on americans. just like iraqis forced out everyone of the last americans so will afghans.
American exit from Afghanistan is a complete misnomer. A better wording would be a reduction in troops but not presence - this would be closer to the truth.
Hope they do not come in the garb of a DIPLOMAT like that murderer Raymond Davis
There is a good probability if this happens, we will see more 'engineered' covert operations in the region, which can potentially make things worse.
Well if that is what they are planning it means Pakistan needs to sharpen up its counter-intelligence to ensure the original plan to seize nuclear assets does not come to fruition. That was the original cause for invading Afghanistan and that was the reason for keeping the memory of Osama Bin Liden's memory alive although he had died of a kidney failure. The American-Zionists are not going to rest until (they think wrongly) they have Pakistan's nuclear arsenal in sight. It would also be foolish to think that they are going from Afghanistan for good - they could cut a deal with the Taliban - the Taliban aslo being very angry over being betrayed by Kaka-buddy Mushraf the fake commando.