Navy Role in Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) — Background and Issues for Congress Page: 1 of 6
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Order Code RS22373
Updated September 11, 2008
~. CRS Report for Congress
Navy Role in Global War on Terrorism
(GWOT) - Background
and Issues for Congress
Ronald O'Rourke
Specialist in Naval Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
The Navy for several years has carried out a variety of activities related to what the
Administration refers to as the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The Navy states that
as of February 2008, more than 11,300 Navy sailors (including Individual Augmentees)
were ashore supporting ground forces in the U.S. Central Command region (including
Iraq and Afghanistan). The Navy's role in the GWOT raises several potential oversight
issues for Congress. This report will be updated as events warrant.
Background
Longstanding Navy GWOT-Related Activities. The Navy for several years
has carried out a variety of activities related to what the Bush administration refers to as
the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), including the following:
" Navy sailors, many of them individual augmentees (IAs), serving on the
ground in Iraq and Afghanistan in various mission areas, including but
not limited to medical and construction support;
" Tomahawk cruise missile attacks on suspected terrorist training camps
and facilities, such as those reportedly conducted in Somalia on March
3 and May 1, 2008,1 and those conducted in 1998 in response to the 1998
terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa;2
'Edmund Sanders, "U.S. Missile Strike in Somalia Kills 6," Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2008;
Stephanie McCrummen and Karen DeYoung, "U.S. Airstrike Kills Somali Accused of Links to
Al-Qaeda," Washington Post, May 2, 2008: A12; Eric Schmitt and Jeffrey Gettleman, "Qaeda
Leader Reported Killed In Somalia," New York Times, May 2, 2008.
2 For a recent article on the 1998 strikes, see Pamela Hess, "Report: 1998 Strike Built bin Laden-
Taliban Tie," Navy Times.com (Associated Press), August 22, 2008.
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Navy Role in Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) — Background and Issues for Congress, report, September 11, 2008; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc809025/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.