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Obama, Brennan, and other high-level officials decide on "disposition matrix" targets. They function as judge, jury and executioner. They hold the power of life and death in their hands.
Plans call for large-scale Lemonnier expansion. Operational forces will more than triple to around 1,100. Pentagon officials only say "a wide variety of regional security missions" are involved. "(S)ecurity considerations prevent us from commenting on specific(s)."
Lemonnier is America's "centerpiece of an expanding constellation of half a dozen" African-based US drone and surveillance facilities. They're also home to conventional attack aircraft. F-15E Strike Eagles fly regional combat missions.
Djibouti's location is key. It's situated between East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Somalia and Yemen can be reached in minutes. Djibouti's port offers easy access to the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa, Amanda Dory, said Lemonnier isn't "an outpost in the middle of nowhere of marginal interest. This is a very important location in terms of US interest, in terms of navigation, when it comes to power projection."
Three classified military operations include Copper Dune (CD), Jupiter Garret (JG) and Octave Shield (OS). CD conducts counterterrorism operations in Yemen. Africa command officials refused comment on JG and OS. Only their unclassified code names are known.
Air Force safety records provide information on aircraft accidents. In February, a Special Ops U-28 spy plane crashed. Four crew members died.
Since January 2011, information on five drone crashes is known. One involved a JSOC major identified only as "Frog." He coordinated Predator missions. Nothing more is known.
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