U.S. focuses on al Qaeda threat to oil shipping
From Kris Osborn
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Navy is strengthening efforts to protect shipping in the Arabian Sea, where officials said the threat to oil tankers may be greater from al Qaeda terrorists than from Iraq.
Navy officials said Thursday they are concerned about al Qaeda's interest in economic targets, with one source noting, "We have warned merchant shipping operations in the Middle East."
The officials said beefed-up security includes the deployment of the USS Mount Whitney, now on the way to the region to support a joint task force for the Horn of Africa.
"Iraq has no real ability to stop the flow of oil," a Navy official said. "They cannot influence other OPEC nations. Al Qaeda has shown they are a threat to the shipping of oil, so they can present a much higher risk to economic targets."
The Whitney's mission, according to Navy officials, is the "interdiction and destruction of terrorists."
A U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit and some U.S. Special Forces have been operating and training in Djibouti, a small Horn of Africa nation. A Navy official linked the deployment to "a lot of terrorist activity in the region because so many fled Afghanistan."
The ship has some 400 Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The group is a headquarters element of the 2nd Marine Division. Military officials described the large vessel with flight deck functions as being like a "floating military headquarters, which can host a command staff at sea."
Having a secure administrative staging area for the U.S. military is particularly helpful near the Afghan region, where many suspected al Qaeda members are believed to be hiding and operating among countries with little government control, such as Yemen and Somalia.
As a result, military officials said the Whitney can help forces operate without having to rely upon a host country to support U.S. military personnel.
"A lot of countries will cooperate quietly, and that is hard to do if you have a base on the ground," one official said.
