US Flexes Its Spy Muscles In Africa: Report

The Obama administration is secretly using unmanned spy planes and Special Forces soldiers to track down Islamic terrorists and warlords in Africa, according to a new report from the Washington Post's Craig Whitlock.

The United States has been building drone bases across the African continent since 2007, as well as flying old-fashioned ... spy flights, and is also spending tens of millions of dollars to track groups like al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram and keep tabs on the coup in Mali and fugitives like Joseph Kony. Meanwhile, President Obama is touting a new sub-Saharan strategy based on diplomacy and economics.

Whitlock reports:

The establishment of the Africa missions also highlights the ways in which Special Operations forces are blurring the lines that govern the secret world of intelligence, moving aggressively into spheres once reserved for the CIA. The CIA has expanded its counterterrorism and intelligence-gathering operations in Africa, but its manpower and resources pale in comparison with those of the military.