Syria says it found new grave containing bodies of security forces
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US building airbase to target Yemen militants
Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:58AM
Rhonda Pence, Press TV, Washington
The Central Intelligence Agency is launching a covert operation in Yemen to reportedly kill al Qaeda operatives. The major U.S. news outlets are reporting that the CIA is building a secret air base somewhere in the Middle East to serve as a launching pad for strikes in Yemen using drones. Investigative reporter Wayne Madsen says the location of the base isn't really a secret.
The spy agency will carry out drone strikes alongside the military campaign, which has been stepped up in recent weeks.
Madsen says the construction of the base is a sign that the Obama administration is planning another covert war without approval from Congress.
Reportedly, President Obama secretly approved the new Yemen program last year. It has been under development for several months because of the complicated logistics required to set up a major intelligence operation in an unstable corner of the world.
Since he took office, President Obama has drastically escalated the C.I.A.'s bombing campaign in Pakistan, and the spy agency has carried out more than 25 drone strikes there this year. The Yemen program is modeled after the program in Pakistan where it is seen as a violation of sovereignty that costs civilian lives.
With Yemen's embattled government on the brink of collapse, Obama administration officials are concerned that a future government might not support American operations. By putting the operations under C.I.A. control, the US can carry out a “covert action,” which can be undertaken without the support of the host government.
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