The New York Times tells us today that the Bush administration granted approval for the U.S. military “to use new authority to attack the Qaeda terrorist network anywhere in the world, and a more sweeping mandate to conduct operations in countries not at war with the United States.” The U.S. military used this “broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a dozen previously undisclosed attacks against Al Qaeda and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere,” the Times reports. But anyone who has been remotely following operations against al Qaeda and its allied terror groups has long been able to deduce the U.S. government has granted approval for the military and CIA to attack high value targets outside of the hot zones of Iraq and Afghanistan. This was one of the worst-kept “secrets” because the high-profile nature of the operations can’t remain hidden. With very little time and effort, I tracked down seven of these so-called secret attacks. One of the most brazen attacks occurred in the country of Madagascar in January 2007. That’s right, Madagascar. U.S. special operations forces from the hunter killer teams of Task Force 88 (back then it was called Task Force 145, the name has likely changed yet again) killed Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, one of Osama bin Laden’s brothers-in-law who has deep roots in al Qaeda as a financier and facilitator. U.S. intelligence tracked Khalifa for a long time (he lived in Saudi Arabia) and waited for the right moment to pounce. The Task Force made it look like Khalifa was killed in a robbery, but it was clear this was a hit. The Saudis went ballistic over Khalifa’s death and lodged a protest with the United States. Back in January 2007, I stated the U.S. was clearly hunting al Qaeda operatives: