Pentagon seeks to expand terror war The Times
April 09, 2002
From Damian Whitworth in WashingtonTHE Pentagon is seeking the go-ahead to finance opposition forces in foreign countries as part of the expansion of the War on Terror.
Under the plan Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, would have unprecedented personal authority to fund “indigenous forces” wherever he sees fit, possibly including Iraq. The proposal has provoked alarm at the State Department and among some Congressional leaders.
The Defence Department is asking Congress for $130 million (£90 million) for the present year to cover extraordinary situations thrown up by the war. The first $100 million would be used in foreign countries “in furtherance of the global war on terrorism”.
The rest of the money would be used to support “indigenous forces engaged in activities in furtherance of United States national security aims”.
At present foreign support programmes are handled by the State Department, where Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, is regarded as being considerably less hawkish than Mr Rumsfeld.
The Pentagon’s proposal is likely to be opposed strongly.
Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Appropriations Sub-committee on Foreign Operations, expressed unease. “The concerns this raises are less about the sums requested than about the troubling precedent it would set, and that makes this a controversial proposal,” he told The Washington Post.
The anxiety centres on the lack of conditions on how the money could be spent, in effect leaving Mr Rumsfeld to sponsor any group he chooses. There would not even be an obligation to tell Congress how the money had been spent.
Proponents of the scheme say that the need for the Pentagon fund arose after difficulties financing Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan and then compensating Pakistan for its assistance in the hunt for Taleban and al-Qaeda fugitives.
The White House budget office said that no decision had been made.