A New Stratedgy For The Global War On Terror

The attacks of 9/11 have brought about a new element to global political stability and security, most countries’ foreign policies were redrawn and reviewed in the face of a new global challenge the likes of which the world has never seen before. However in the process, while governments were trying to figure out how to deal with this new threat. Some countries, chief amongst them Iran and Russia, have taken advantage of the situation. Seeing this new threat as an opportunity to expand their political influence and control in the Middle East and North Africa, in many cases through proxy wars.

The economic and political rise of China on the world stage as a super power, and its expansion in the region poses a new economic and political threat to the United States. Regional governments in the Middle East have also been battling with the rise of terror groups and jihadists, especially from ones sponsored by Iran.

Given China’s warm relationship with Iran, and the United States suspicions that China is supplying Iran with nuclear technologies and know-how through North Korea, is fomenting global political agitation between the superpowers. This in turn opens the window for regional realignments and wars, which gives rise to extremists and terrorist groups.

However, the Global War on Terror is not limited to the mountains of Afghanistan, the streets of Mosul, or the jungles of the Philippines. In 2005, the United States implemented a new policy to face a new threat; Home-Grown Terrorism.

he fear from the rise of Islamist groups such as ISIS and others, who are boldly challenging the West and recruiting young men and women using social media and radicalizing young Muslims, has changed the landscape of the battlefield permanently. Most political and military analysts would say this new conflict is fought in an unconventional and unprecedented manner, using new hybrid ideologies, methods and new tools. Clearly new tactics and strategies need to be deployed in order to meet this threat head-on.

At the same time while being faced with such an unprecedented multidimensional challenge that includes political, military, intelligence, and law enforcement components; the United States and her Western allies are expected to maintain the very values they are trying to preserve and protect. This poses a very difficult task in the face of such an unconventional enemy, who does not live by nor believe in the same values the West upholds. The question many lawmakers find themselves asking is, “how do we fight it, without losing their own sensibility of liberty, rule of law, and democracy?”

After the September 11, 2001 attacks Islamophobia became a new modus operandi in the West, this new threat was not only coming from some distant countries where they could be fought on some distant battle field, but it was rather a threat that was also coming from within, a home grown threat. Adding to the challenges faced by both intelligence and law enforcement officials in Washington, U.S. prisons had become a breeding ground for those would be Jihadists.

In order to understand this phenomenon and the enormous efforts the U.S. government undertook to combat extremists groups both at home and abroad, one must try to understand some of the background and the evolution that took place within the U.S. military, intelligence, and law enforcement communities.

Background

After 9/11 the U.S. established Task Force 88; an American Special Operations unit with support from elements from British Special Forces.

The unit, of which little is publicly known, was formed in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and is described as a “hunter-killer team”. Its core is formed of Delta Force, 75th Ranger Regiment, members of the USAF 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Navy SEAL Team Six operators, and the ultra-secretive Intelligence Support Activity (ISA). The task force was reported to be responsible for both the cross border raid into Syria from Iraq in October 2008 that resulted in eight deaths including that of Abu Ghadiya, as well as several US operations in the Horn of Africa targeting al Qaeda cells.

Since the invasion of Iraq, the task force went through a number of changes of designation; some of which included Task Force 20, which was amalgamated with Task Force 5 (formerly Task Force 11/Task Force Sword) in Afghanistan in July 2003, and became Task Force 21.

It was later consecutively re-designated as Task Force 121, Task Force 626, Task Force 145, and Task Force 88. There are reports the “Task Force” was also known obliquely as Other Coalition Forces – Iraq (OCF-I), “a wry reference to the CIA unit of the moniker OGA”.

It was a combined U.S. and British military special forces provisional grouping that remained under American command, specifically charged with hunting down high-value al Qaeda and Iraqi leadership including Osama bin Laden and, until his death on June, 7 2006 Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It is believed that the Task Force played a role in the medium altitude strike mission that killed al-Zarqawi just outside Baqubah. The Task Force was charged with disrupting al-Qaeda operations in Iraq and, to a lesser extent Afghanistan.

Most of the operations including the killing of al-Zarqawi was carried out by U.S. SEAL Team Six and operators of the American ultra-secret intelligence unit ISA.

The action arm of the Task Force was made up of operators from 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta,United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group(‘DEVGRU’), British Special Air Services (SAS), British Special Boat Service and soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment. Members of the CIA’s elite Special Activities Division paramilitary unit were also believed to be an important part of the group.

Support elements include the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment(Night Stalkers), the Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron, and British paratroopers from the Special Forces Support Group.

The unit was operating up until at least January 2007; it is not clear whether it is still operational with the U.S. draw-down from Iraq. In January 2007 Task Force 88 established a subsidiary task force, Task Force 17, in addition to an existing task force, Task Force 16.

Task Force 17 was established to ‘counter Iranian influence.’ Task Force 17 was to be made Initially Operationally Capable as of January 15, 2007 and Full Operational Capability (FOC) by February 15, 2007. The Task Force is known to operate very autonomously. In their only publicly known operation they reportedly conducted several raids without requiring approval from higher authorities.

SAD

The Special Activities Division (SAD) is a division of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, responsible for covert operations known as "special activities". Within SAD there are two separate groups, SAD/SOG for tactical paramilitary operations and SAD/PAG for covert political action.

Special Operations Group (SOG) is the department within SAD responsible for operations that include high threat military or covert operations with which the U.S. government does not wish to be overtly associated. As such, members of the unit (called Paramilitary Operations Officers and Specialized Skills Officers) normally do not carry any objects or clothing (e.g., military uniforms) that would associate them with the United States government. If they are compromised during a mission, the United States government may deny all knowledge. Not only are members of SAD prohibited from revealing their identities to other agencies within the government, but they are also not permitted to reveal the nature of their work or their units after leaving SAD or the agency.

SOG is generally considered the most secretive special operations force in the United States. The group selects operatives from other tier one special mission units such as Delta Force, DEVGRY, ISA, and 24th STS, as well as other United States special operations forces, such as USNSWC, MARSCO, U.S. Army Special Forces, SEALs, SWCC, Force Recon, Para-rescuemen, Deployable Operations Group, Combat Controllers, and the Army Rangers.                                                    

SAD provides the President of the United States with an option when covert military and/or diplomatic actions are not viable or politically feasible. SAD can be directly tasked by the President of the United States or the National Security Council at the President's direction. This is unlike any other U.S. special mission force. SAD/SOG has far fewer members than most of the other special missions units, such as the U.S. Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force) or Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU)

As the action arm of the DOD, SAD/SOG conducts direct action missions such as raids, ambushes, sabotage, targeted killings and unconventional warfare (e.g., training and leading guerrilla and military units of other countries in combat). SAD/SOG also conducts special reconnaissance, that can be either military or intelligence driven, but are carried out by Paramilitary Officers (also called Paramilitary Operatives) when in "non-permissive environments". Paramilitary Operations Officers are also fully trained case officers (i.e., “spy handlers") and as such conduct clandestine human intelligence (HUMINT) operations throughout the world. SAD/SOG officers are selected from the most elite U.S. military units.

Political Action Group (PAG) is responsible for covert activities related to political influence, psychological operations and economic warfare. The rapid development of technology has added cyberwarfare to their mission. Tactical units within SAD are also capable of carrying out covert political action while deployed in hostile and austere environments. A large covert operation usually has components that involve many, or all, of these categories, as well as paramilitary operations. Political and Influence covert operations are used to support U.S. foreign policy. Often overt support for one element of an insurgency would be counter-productive due to the impression it would have on the local population. In such cases, covert assistance allows the U.S. to assist without damaging these elements in the process. Many of the other activities (such as propaganda, economic and cyber) support the overall political effort. There have been issues in the past with attempts to influence the US media such as in Operation Mockingbird. However, these activities are now subject to the same oversight as all covert action operations

FAST

The U.S., also has another weapon in its arsenal that was tasked with counter terrorism operations, The Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team(FAST) of the United States Marine Corps. The role of the Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams is to detect, deter and defend against threats, with a focus on antiterrorism. A common task of the FAST team companies is the reinforcement of security at US Embassies around the world. They also provide training and advice to other security forces.

Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams maintain forward-deployed platoons at naval bases around the world. FAST also keeps alert forces on standby to respond rapidly to unforeseen events.

The Marines within Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams are highly skilled in counter surveillance, physical security, urban combat techniques, close quarter combat (CQB), martial arts (hand to hand combat)

FAST is capable of rapidly deploying and responding to terrorist attacks worldwide faster than most conventional Special Operations Units, given the Marines’ rapid deployment capabilities. Established in 1987, FAST companies provide a limited-duration, expeditionary security force to protect vital naval and national assets.

Each FAST company is equipped and trains with state-of-the-art weaponry, it currently consists of around 500 Marines.

FAST maintains a high degree of readiness in order to conduct these short-notice, limited-duration contingency operations, as seen in the port security mission following the attack on the USS Cole (DDG-67) in October 2000 and the American Embassies’ reinforcements in Liberia and Haiti. FAST participated in several embassy reinforcements during the Arab Spring, from Cairo, Egypt to Sana’a, Yemen.

FAST Marines provided additional security to allow the embassies to continue normal operation. On September 12, 2012, a FAST team was sent to Libya in response to the September, 11, 2012 U.S. Consulate attack in Benghazi. The FAST Marines were from Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Company Europe based in Rota, Spain.

ISA

The Intelligence Support Activity (ISA) is the most secretive black ops unit within the U.S. military. The ISA mission is to support top-tier Special Operations Forces (primarily Delta Force and SEAL Team Six) in counter-terrorism operations and other special missions. The ISA conducts actionable intelligence collection, pathfinding, and operational support. The ISA carried out operations mainly in Latin America and the Middle East, but also in East Africa, South-East Asia, and Europe.

In 2003, the Intelligence Support Activity was transferred from the Army to the Joint Special Operations Command, where it was renamed the Mission Support Activity (MSA).

Since 2005 onward, the ISA has not always operated under a two-worded Special Access Program (SAP) name (Grey Fox, Centra Spike, etc.). In 2009, the unit was referred to as INTREPID SPEAR, until this was leaked in an email to the Pentagon. In 2010 it was referred to as the United States Army Studies and Analysis Activity.

In 2 May 2011 U.S. Special Operations Forces carried out a mission which resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. The assault team comprised of elements of DEVGRU, along with the ISA, members of the CIA Special Activities Division, DIA, and the NSA. The majority of HUMINT was gathered, collected and analysed by ISA operatives. After the raid, intelligence collected from Bin Laden’s compound was analysed by ISA intelligence analysts, in addition to killing Bin Laden, the raid also resulted in the deaths of several family members and associates of Bin Laden.

According to Sean Naylor in Not A Good Day to Die, most (but certainly not all) Activity operatives come from United States Army Special Forces, due to their self-reliance and specialized skill-set.

Candidates go through a rigorous selection process, then once admitted, they receive further training in deep surveillance, signals intelligence, etc. Like all units, this special missions unit contains operational detachments as well as support detachments.

Candidates must have previous training in tactics, such as CQB, sniper, counter-sniper, and source development. Foreign language skills, although highly desired, are not a prerequisite to becoming a member of the ISA, though to be a SIGINT/HUMINT operator in the field with other Special Mission Units, working clandestine operations in non-permissive environments, knowing a minimum of several languages is usually indispensable (e.g. Farsi, Arabic, Pashtu etc.). Candidates must pass a rigorous assessment and selection course, as well as a lengthy background investigation and psychological testing. After passing assessment and selection, candidates attend and pass Operations Training Course (OTC).

Some of the disciplines focused on in the training course are: infiltration techniques, advanced air operations, professional driving (offensive and off-road), personal defensive measures, and state-of-the-art communications.

ISA intelligence missions, budget — and location are classified. The ISA is not subject to oversight by the Congressional intelligence committees because virtually all ISA activity supports active or planned military missions. A few people on the Armed Services Committees have some familiarity with the ISA, although its visibility is kept to the bare minimum. The intention isn't to shield it from Congress necessarily, but to maintain optimum operational security. The Department of Defense (and the President) has knowledge of the ISA. The level of secrecy and operational security maintained by this unit, ensures that so little is known that the enemy is precluded from knowing of its existence, let alone wondering whether ISA operatives are in country.

The ISA frequently works in conjunction with the Technical Operations Support Activity which carries out classified airborne intelligence, electronic and signal surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the Special Operations Command. The ISA HQ location is a closely guarded secret that changes once every 12 months to maintain secrecy, and security. According to Wikileaks, the ISA operates under a series of different code names which are changed every two years; known code names include Central Spike, Torn Victor, Quiet Enable, Cemetery Wind, and Gray Fox. 

Home-grown Terrorism Cells

Between September 11, 2001 and the end of 2009, the U.S. government reported forty-six incidents of "domestic radicalization and recruitment to jihadist terrorism" that involved at least 125 people, according to a May 2010 Rand Corporation report. Half the cases involve single individuals, while the rest represent "tiny conspiracies", according to congressional testimony by Brian Michael Jenkins, author of the Rand report.

Counter-terrorism experts point to online social media sites and charismatic English-speaking preachers, such Anwar al-Awlaki, as a boon for terrorist groups looking to spread their ideology in the United States. The U.S. prison system remains another concern for jihadist recruiting. In January 2010 the Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued a report on al-Qaeda, which found that as many as three dozen U.S.ex-convicts thought to have become radicalized in prison may have attended terrorist training camps in Yemen. In 2005, law enforcement officials foiled a plot to attack numerous sites in California by three Muslim men linked to Jamiyyat Ul Islam Is Saheeh, a militant, prison-based Muslim group started in 1997. A March 2010 FBI bulletin on radicalization in prison says more study is needed. "Authorities must temper their responses with the understanding that religious conversion differs from radicalization," the report says.

In 2004 the CIA and the FBI decided in response to this obvious home grown terror network in U.S. prisons to initiate a highly classified operation where the CIA under a special executive order would infiltrate the home grown terror recruiting networks in U.S. prisons.

And while the CIA passes intelligence it obtains from the operation to the FBI for prosecution, the CIA would follow the networks overseas to identify their financial backers and dismantle and or capture these networks; however in most cases they would neutralize their members.

In order to carry out a successful operation the FBI did not have any agent who could infiltrate these groups successfully without risking being exposed, particularly in a prison environment. According to FBI Director Robert Mueller the government needed someone who would be able to pass as a Muslim and preferably as an Arab without challenge.

“During a 28-year career with the FBI, where I worked both counterintelligence and counter- terrorism, evidence of clandestine trade-craft—foreign-trained terrorists returning home to enmesh themselves in society—was rarely seen in domestic terrorism cases. Prior to the attacks by Al Qaeda on 9/11, alleged foreign terrorists were not suspected of receiving extensive training in secret intelligence methods and underground cell dynamics.” Said former FBI Agent, David Gomez.

“The Israelis have several units comprised of Arabic speaking elite soldiers, one such unit, the Sword Battalion, is also known as Unit 300 and the IDF Minorities Unit. These guys are native Arabic speakers, have Arab appearances, understand the culture and the customs, and carry out some of the most dangerous covert operations for Israel’s military. If we are to defeat or at least combat home-grown terrorism in the United States, we have to look at the Israelis and learn from them,” says former FBI Deputy Director John Pistole.

The Operation and the Operative

According to WikiLeaks, in 2005 the CIA had such an operative in one of its deep covert paramilitary units, the Special Activities Division (SAD). Khalid El-Sheriff (not his real name, his identity is still classified by the CIA) is an American born, former U.S. Marine, and a member of FAST. The operative had also served with the military’s most secretive unit, the Intelligence Support Activity (ISA), before joining SAD.

Some uncorroborated reports say that El-Sheriff is fluent in seven languages and had served and participated in covert operations in Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Kenya, Yemen and Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Italy, and perhaps even Iran. A highly educated Marine, Master Sergeant, turned covert operative who had earned undergraduate degrees in both economics and political science, and holds 2 graduate degrees in Islamic law, and military studies. After serving with FAST and later with the military’s ultra-secret unit, the Intelligence Support Activity (ISA) within the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), El-Sheriff joined SAD’s Special Operation’s Group as an intelligence operative. 

According to WikiLeaks, the combination of El-Sheriff’s extensive training and experience within ISA along with SAD, made him a primary candidate for a clandestine operation infiltrating U.S. extremist groups inside U.S. prisons. In order for the CIA to provide El-Sheriff with an ironclad cover, he had to undergo the same process that any convicted felon would undergo upon arrest and conviction. Starting with the court proceedings to make his legend (synonym for cover identity used by intelligence operatives) more believable and water tight.

“Just as the U.S government carries out background checks and confirms the identity of a potential federal employee, so does Al Qaeda, and most terror groups. These days with access to the internet you can check someone’s credit, their criminal record, their school record, and even tax return and how many times they have been married and divorced, all for the small price of $19.99. So if you are going to put an undercover operative, especially in a prison environment, you better make sure that his cover is not blown, or you would be condemning a man to his death.” Said, Peter Ahearn, a retired FBI special agent who directed the Western New York Joint Terrorism Task Force. 

According to WikiLeaks, El-Sheriff whose father is believed to be a Syrian born Jewish epidemiologist, and whose mother is believed to be an Egyptian born Jewess archaeologist, spent time in the Middle East as a child where he learned Arabic.

In 2006 El-Sheriff arrived at FCI Taft with a cover story of having been convicted of bank fraud. It is also believed he had previously spent time at USP Lompoc infiltrating Muslim groups in the prison, where he joined former U.S. Army Special Forces medic, turned FBI informant “Malik,” (not his real name) to infiltrate prison gangs suspected of ties to would be Jihadists recruiting networks.

In 2007 El-Sheriff was sent to FC Fort Dix, a low security federal correctional facility located within the perimeters of the Fort Dix U.S Army Base. There he befriended a Pakistani national convicted of violating the Arms Export Control Act, who was serving 15 years in federal prison for exporting nuclear and missile technologies, and shipping manuals on how to make dirty bombs to Pakistan. During El-Sheriff’s stay at Fort Dix and having become close to the prison’s Salafi Muslim inmates, most of whom were American born, El-Sheriff was able to uncover plans by some prison inmates against the base, and an attempt to free one of the prisoners, whose co-conspirators outside the prison were orchestrating the attack.

The alleged goal of the group was to "kill as many soldiers as possible and attempt to free one of the inmates by cutting the fence during prisoners’ recreation time. However, before the attackers were able to carry out their attack they were arrested by the FBI because of intelligence provided by El-Sheriff. On December 22, 2008, five were found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder in their intentions to kill U.S. military personnel; four received life sentences, while one received 33 years in prison. The remaining member was thought to have had a minor role in the plot and was sentenced to five years in prison for weapons offences.

In 2011 El-Sheriff went undercover again, this time at a private prison facility in New Mexico and later was transferred back to FCI Fort Dix where El-Sheriff's task as a CIA/SAD operative was to befriended an America born convert to Islam, named Abdullah Mohammed Muslim on behalf of the FBI  (featured below/ PHOTO: U.S. Federal Bureau of Prison). 

Muslim (formally known as Johnnie Clagg) was in prison on weapons charges, steeling the identity of someone bound to a wheelchair and suffering from cerebral palsy, and used it to try to flee the country, identity theft and trying to falsify a passport.. 

The FBI had continuously monitored Muslim, suspecting him of having affiliation with networks in Pakistan and Egypt. Muslim had visited both countries and had collected an arsenal of weapons at his home in Ohio before he was arrested by the FBI and received a ten year sentence for weapons offences.

We now learn from other sources including WikiLeaks that El-Sheriff was assisted in Fort Dix in 2011 by an inmate turned FBI informant who had been recruited by El-Sheriff himself, named Aaron Thomas. The 2011 operation was managed by the FBI field office in Trenton in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security and the CIA.  

According to information released by WikiLeaks, El-Sheriff exceeded his superiors’ expectations in that his identity was never discovered the first time he was interned at Fort Dix, which allowed him to return using the same prison identity previously created for him by the CIA.

Several attempts for interviews were made to the CIA and the FBI to comment on this story or to shed light on the extent of the U.S. security and intelligence services domestic operations. However, all attempts for comments were unanswered.

Sources however say that it is believed that El-Sheriff is currently living somewhere outside of the United States under his real name. He is considered the longest undercover CIA operative in the global war on terror, as he had served 8 years undercover infiltrating terror networks in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East.

While the American President operates under principles of plausible deniability regarding these covert anti-terrorism operations, his British counterparts appear to be in denial of the harsh reality of home grown terrorism within the UK in general, and the British penal system specifically. Despite several public statements by the British Prime Minister and his Home Office Secretary, Theresa May, it seems the UK government continues to apply political correctness in the face of a very painful and dangerous reality.

This problem is unfortunately going to continue post President Obama's administration, it will fall to the next administration to respond to new threats and realities from far more sinister and dangerous adversary such as ISIS, where the men and women of JSCO, ISA, SDA, CIA, FBI and the United States Armed Forces’ resoluteness and perseverance will be once again put to the test and tried.

Two different approaches have been employed by both the U.S., and her ally the UK, one more politically correct and the other not so much. However, if one was to act by political correct principals alone, then the U.S. would not have responded as aggressively to the attacks of 9/11, which would have left terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda feeling emboldened.

American leaders adhere to principals that permit an aggressive military stand against a clear and present danger to their national security and way of life. This is complimented with reverence for liberty and democracy as enshrined in the Constitution and in the heart of every American.  This is self evident from the oath elected official, military personal, and police officers take, to the pledge of allegiance that school children recite before starting their school day, and new immigrants recite when becoming U.S. citizens.