In October and November of 2001, small numbers of soldiers from the
Army Special Forces entered Afghanistan, linked up with elements of
the Northern Alliance (an assortment of Afghanis opposed to the
Taliban), and, in a remarkably short period of time, destroyed the
Taliban regime. Trained to work with indigenous forces and
personnel like the Northern Alliance, these soldiers, sometimes
riding on horseback, combined modern military technology with
ancient techniques of central Asian warfare in what was later
described as "the first cavalry charge of the twenty-first
century."
In this engaging book, two national security experts and
Department of Defense insiders put the exploits of America's
special operation forces in historical and strategic context. David
Tucker and Christopher J. Lamb offer an incisive overview of
America's turbulent experience with special operations. Using
in-depth interviews with special operators at the forefront of the
current war on terrorism and providing a detailed account of how
they are selected and trained, the authors illustrate the diversity
of modern special operations forces and the strategic value of
their unique attributes.
From the first chapter, this book builds toward a set of
recommendations for reforms that would allow special operations
forces to make a greater contribution to the war on terrorism and
play a more strategic role in safeguarding the nation's
security.
Along the way, the authors explain why special operations forces
are:
* Distinguished by characteristics not equally valued by their own
leadership
* Strategically crucial because of two mutually supporting but
undeniably distinct sets of capabilities not found inconventional
forces
* Not to be confused with the CIA and so-called paramilitary
forces, nor with the Marines and other elite forces
* Unable to learn from the 1993 failed intervention in Somalia and
the national-oversight issues it revealed
* Better integrated into the nation's military strategy and
operations than ever before but confused about their core missions
in the war on terror
* Not "transformed" for future challenges as many assert but rather
in need of organizational reforms to realize their strategic
potential
Despite longstanding and growing public fascination with special
operators, these individuals and the organizations that employ them
are little understood. With this book, Tucker and Lamb dispel
common misconceptions and offer a penetrating analysis of how these
unique and valuable forces can be employed to even better effect in
the future.
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