Posted on 04/02/2003 1:56:24 PM PST by JohnHuang2
U.S. special forces playing key role in Iraq war
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. military's special forces are playing a key role in the Iraq war, as illustrated by the rescue of American prisoner of war Jessica Lynch.
Officials said on Wednesday that a team of Army Rangers, Navy SEALs and Air Force pilots rescued Lynch in a nighttime raid from a hospital near Nassiriya in southern Iraq. Lynch, 19, had been captured on March 23 in an ambush by Iraqi forces of an Army supply convoy.
"There's a reason why you have regular units, and we're seeing right now you need them to hammer the Republican Guard. But if you understand the need for the broad sword, you should also understand the need for the dagger," said retired U.S. Army Col. Kenneth Allard of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
U.S. defense officials lauded contributions made by U.S., British and Australian elite special forces, but said much of their activities remained secret.
"The western corridor of Iraq is owned by special forces -- British, Australian and U.S. special forces. So that's pretty significant -- let alone all the other operations they're doing in the other areas of the country," a U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.
The special forces are units of the U.S. armed services that carry out commando missions such as rescues, manhunts, secretive attacks, spotting bombing targets and reconnaissance, often deep in enemy territory. There are an estimated 45,000 U.S. military special operations troops.
The CIA also conducts paramilitary operations of its own, relying mostly on former military officers.
Special operations long have been part of the American military, as well of the militaries of many other nations. For example, "Merrill's Marauders," led by Brig. Gen. Frank Merrill, clandestinely penetrated deep behind enemy lines in the Burmese jungle in World War Two, disrupting Japanese supply and communication lines and capturing a key air field.
"Special forces are of growing importance in an era in which you are combating not just conventional militaries but a whole range of new threats," said analyst Daniel Goure of the Lexington Institute, a defense think tank.
The Afghanistan war launched in 2001 put the spotlight on special forces like never before. Military special forces and CIA paramilitary personnel called in air strikes from warplanes using precision-guided bombs, and worked with opposition fighters to drive the ruling Taliban from power.
But efforts to track down Osama bin Laden, blamed by Washington for the Sept. 11 attacks, failed.
Special operations troops were present inside Iraq even before the official start of the war. In the Kurdish-controlled north, they helped pave the way for the insertion of Army paratroopers. In the west, they seized key air fields and searched for Scud missiles.
They also seized a dam that U.S. officials had feared the Iraqis might destroy in order to flood the battlefield.
Analysts said other chores being assigned to these forces include: searching for suspected chemical and biological weapons; hunting for Iraqi government leaders, including President Saddam Hussein; reconnaissance; coordinating efforts with opposition forces including Iraqi Kurds; and rescue missions.
"They're playing a much bigger role in this Gulf War than they did the last time. (U.S. commander) Gen. (Tommy) Franks is using them far more extensively than (1991 Gulf War commander Gen. Norman) Schwarzkopf did," said Mike Vickers, who spent 13 years as a U.S. special forces and CIA officer and is now an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
It's hard to find a dead guy buried under 50 millions tons of Tora Bora rubble.
The Governor of Logar Province in Afghanistan, to "Jack," a Green Beret: "Where are all your men? You have come alone? How can you help us defeat our enemy with only one man? The Russians sent tens of thousands...Bush sends us one...What kind of men are these Green Berets that will come alone?"
General Abdul Rashid Dostum's comment (a former Soviet officer who defected to join the mujahadeen, and a leader of the Northern Alliance): "I asked for a few Americans. They brought with them the courage of a whole Army."
And then author Moore points out: "Most people think it took 5,000 to 10,000 US troops to free Kabul. They are vastly mistaken -- fewer than 100 American soldiers were on the ground when Kabul fell."
You might consider getting a life.
I also believe that Saddam Hussein was killed in the first minute of the war.
How do you like them apples?
How do you like them apples?
Then why does it "disturb" you that I happen to think Usam bin Faggot is dead too?
Forget to take your Lithium?
It is obvious from your delusion that you are the only rational person on earth that you DID forget to take your Lithium.
Seen your old friend Napoleon Bonaparte lately?
It is obvious from your delusion that you are the only rational person on earth that you DID forget to take your Lithium.
Seen your old friend Napoleon Bonaparte lately?
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