White House wants Sahara Desert as new front for "War on Terror"

[shance]

White House wants Sahara Desert as new front for war on terror


The U.S. government reportedly plans to spend $500 million over five years to make the Sahara Desert a vast new front in its war on terrorism.

The operation is called the Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative, begun in June to provide military expertise, equipment and development aid to nine Saharan countries. This is an area where lawless swaths of desert are considered fertile ground for militant Muslim groups, the San Francisco Chronicle said.

Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia were listed as participants in the initiative.

During the first phase of the program, dubbed Operation Flintlock, 700 U.S. Special Forces troops and 2,100 soldiers from nine North and West African nations led 3,000 ill-equipped Saharan troops in tactical exercises designed to better coordinate security along porous borders and beef up patrols in ungoverned territories.


http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=eb70e20b6a94ea84

[merh]

1. But what about the hurricane survivors?

What about the needs of citizens living on our shores?

[MnFats]

2. they're not in a position to build airstrips in remote Africa or..

...serve as a launching pad for further incursions into nations that are an 'imminent threat' to us. Simple enough.

[merh]

3. Sadly enough, yes, that is simple enough.

:-(

[MidwestTransplant]

4. I think the terrorists who will hit us in the future are getting

plenty of training in Iraq, unfortunatley.

[wake.up.america]

5. Terrorists can train in someone's back yard, if the house is...

remotely located. How about giving the 500 million to flood victims in America or at least to victims of oppressive governments in Northern Africa?