Special Activities Center: Difference between revisions

SAD/SOG has been very active "on the ground" inside Pakistan targeting al-Qaeda operatives for [[Unmanned Aerial Vehicle]] (UAV) [[Predator UAV|Predator]] strikes and along with USSOCOM elements they have been training Pakistani paramilitary troops and regular Army troops, they have also done HVT target missions alongside Pakistani special forces.<ref>"Secret U.S. Unit Trains Commandos in Pakistan," Eric Schmit and Jane Perlez, ''The New York Times'', February 22, 2009</ref> Before leaving office, President George W. Bush authorized SAD's successful killing of eight senior al-Qaeda operatives via targeted air strikes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2009/01/unleashed-cia-zapped-8-qaeda-l.html |location=New York |work=Daily News |title=Unleashed CIA Zapped 8 Qaeda Lieutenants Since July |date=January 18, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531173541/http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2009/01/unleashed-cia-zapped-8-qaeda-l.html |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }}</ref> Among those killed were the mastermind of a 2006 plot to detonate explosives aboard planes flying across the Atlantic [[Rashid Rauf]] and the man thought to have planned the [[Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing]] on September 20, 2008, that killed 53 people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/3500341/British-terror-mastermind-Rashid-Rauf-killed-in-US-missile-strike.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=British terror mastermind Rashid Rauf 'killed in US missile strike' |first=Andrew |last=Alderson |date=November 22, 2008 |access-date=March 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126004001/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/3500341/British-terror-mastermind-Rashid-Rauf-killed-in-US-missile-strike.html |archive-date=November 26, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Washington |first=The |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/16/us-strikes-home-in-on-al-qaeda-kill-8-leaders/ |title=U.S. strikes more precise on al Qaeda |work=Washington Times |date=January 16, 2009 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427034249/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/16/us-strikes-home-in-on-al-qaeda-kill-8-leaders/ |archive-date=April 27, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The CIA Director authorized the continuation of these operations and on January 23, SAD/SOG performed killings of 20 individuals in northwestern Pakistan that were terrorists. Some experts assess that the CIA Director – at that time [[Leon Panetta]] – has been more aggressive in conducting paramilitary operations in Pakistan than his predecessor.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704130904574644132628157104?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |title=The Meaning of al Qaeda's Double Agent |date=January 7, 2010 |access-date=August 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011213154/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704130904574644132628157104?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular |archive-date=October 11, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> A Pakistani security official stated that other strikes killed at least 10 insurgents, including five foreign nationals and possibly "a high-value target" such as a senior al-Qaeda or Taliban official.<ref>"U.S. missile strikes signal Obama tone: Attacks in Pakistan kill 20 at suspected terror hideouts," by R. Jeffrey Smith, Candace Rondeaux, Joby Warrick, ''Washington Post'', January 24, 2009</ref> On February 14, the CIA drone killed 27 taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in a missile strike in south [[Waziristan]], a militant stronghold near the Afghan border where al-Qaeda leaders [[Osama bin Laden]] and [[Ayman al-Zawahri]] were believed to be hiding.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,492944,00.html|title=Pakistan: Suspected U.S. Missile Strike Kills 27|work=Fox News|access-date=February 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215193156/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,492944,00.html|archive-date=February 15, 2009|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>