Posted on 04/29/2006 3:12:19 PM PDT by northmoor
April 28, 2006
Just nine days before al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi released his latest video, a special operations raid killed five of his men, captured five others and apparently came within a couple of city blocks of nabbing Zarqawi himself.
Then, the day Zarqawi's video debuted, special ops forces killed 12 more of his troops in a second raid in the same town.
The raids in Yusufiyah, 20 miles southwest of Baghdad in the heart of the Sunni Triangle, were the latest battles in a small, vicious war being waged largely in the shadows of the wider counterinsurgency effort.
It is a war fought by a secretive organization called Task Force 145, made up of some of the most elite U.S. troops, including Delta Force and SEAL Team 6. They have one goal: hunting down Zarqawi, Iraq�s most wanted man, and destroying his al-Qaida in Iraq organization.
Zarqawi's escape in Yusufiyah was not the first time special ops troops have nearly had him. In early 2005, they came so close they could see the Jordanian's panicked face as he fled.
The first of the two Yusufiyah raids began at 2:15 a.m. April 16 when SEAL Team 6 operators and Army Rangers approached a terrorist safe house, a U.S. special operations source said.
A U.S. Central Command news release said coalition forces--the usual shorthand for Task Force 145 elements--were searching for a wanted al-Qaida associate.
When the U.S. troops arrived, the enemy opened fire with small arms. In the fight that followed, the special ops troops killed five terrorists, three of whom wore suicide belts, according to Central Command. Two of the suicide bombers were killed before either could detonate his vest, and the third detonated his body bomb, killing only himself and injuring no one else, the news release said.
A woman in the house also was killed. Three other women and a child were wounded and were medically evacuated to the 10th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad.
U.S. forces detained five other occupants, one of whom was wounded. One of the five was later confirmed as the wanted al-Qaida terrorist for whom the troops were searching, according to Central Command.
The terrorist, whose name is currently being withheld, was involved in the planning and execution of improvised explosive device attacks and allegedly was associated with al-Qaida foreign fighter operations, the command said. The other four suspects are being assessed for knowledge of and involvement in terrorist activity, the news release said.
The Marine Corps Times provides details about the special units hunting Zarqawi:
The job of hunting Zarqawi and rolling up his al-Qaida in Iraq network falls to Task Force 145, which is made up of the most elite U.S. and British special operations forces, and whose headquarters is in Balad.
The U.S. forces are drawn from units under Joint Special Operations Command at Pope Air Force Base, N.C. These include the military's two direct action special mission units, the Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, known as Delta Force, and the Navy's SEAL Team 6, sometimes known by its cover name, Naval Special Warfare Development Group; the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and 75th Ranger Regiment; and the Air Force�s 24th Special Tactics Squadron.
After Saddam Hussein's fall, the first order of business for the JSOC forces was capturing or killing the 55 individuals on the deck of cards that depicted the regime's senior officials. Delta's C Squadron was at the heart of the task force that captured Saddam in December 2003.
The emergence of Zarqawi and his al-Qaida in Iraq group as a major threat to Iraq's stability then gave JSOC a new priority. As the war in Iraq has ground on, and with Zarqawi still on the loose, the JSOC force in Iraq has grown steadily and undergone several name changes. TF 121 and TF 626 were two previous incarnations.
TF 145 is divided into four subordinate task forces in Iraq:
• Task Force West, organized around a SEAL Team 6 squadron with Rangers in support.
• Task Force Central, organized around a Delta squadron with Rangers in support.
• Task Force North, organized around a Ranger battalion combined with a small Delta element.
• Task Force Black, organized around a British Special Air Service saber squadron, with British paratroopers from the Special Forces Support Group in support.
A simple example would be that if an enemy spy, yes they are infiltrated thoroughout IP, IF, translators, food service, et. al, learned that one of these units was in the area or setting up, the enemy would leave or focus attacks. Either scenario is not good for us.
Col. Nick Rowe was a pow of the VC for 5 yrs. For most of that time they thought he was an combat engineer. Through spies in our government, most likely a member of the "anti-war" left, his true identity was discovered. He was being moved to a command location for execution when he escaped and was rescued.
He was eventually murdered by Phillipine communists after their intelligence discovered who he was and his mission.
They carry the enemies' water, in many cases. I was astounded by an advertisement on Military.com, run by Col. Hackworth and his group SFTT. They were helping a "major" news organization, asking to be contacted by any service members who had any knowledge of harsh treatment of enemies or of so called "war crimes".
"It is significant."
...oh yes.
"In short, just about everything the enemy does not know helps our side...."
Just like the MSM feeds us misinformation for their benefit, this information was carefully planned for it's objective.
"...that's part of the information battle."
Read article again. CODENAME coalition forces. LOL.
"Second, if they were that close, why was he not shot and killed instead of being allowed to flee?"
Imagine a street in Iraq, lots of small vendors on the streets, and a squad heading to an assignment sees their target buying food. The target panics and runs, the squad cannot just 'open fire' in the middle of the crowded street.
Not saying this is what happened, just providing a reasonable explanation.
What is the difference between a "white" SOF unit and a "black" SOF unit?
Thank you for your response...I don't know how "reasonable" it is, but at least you attempted and answer. Thanks again!!!
A rule of thumb is to say nothing that is not part of an information operation.
It even hurts to verify for the enemy that which we think he knows. Confirmation of information enables him to be certain rather than to wonder. It also enables him to free up resources for that which is still hazy or unknown.
How do you know this?
Please read my xzins and my previous posts. You seem to have missed them. The msm continually gives information that aids the enemy. With today's technology the information in this article could also be used to target the families, living in the US, of service members.
The "black" units conduct more Direct Action missions such as hostage rescue and taking down high value targets. These people are rarely open with their backgrounds and depend on secrecy.
The first half of John Wayne's movie "The Green Berets" gives the concept of a "white" operation. The movie "Navy Seals (with Charlie Sheen) shows an agrandized view of "black" ops.
Thanks for the explaination.
They were once published by the Military Times Publishing Company, which may still exist on paper, but is owned by Gannett (publishers of USA Today). When Gannett bought them out the editorial position of all of the papers veered left and the quality of the reporting took a nose dive.
The papers are mostly bought by career soldiers (sailors, Marines, etc), because the services do a lousy job of putting personnel info on their intranets, and you've always been able to see the War College selection list, the Master Sergeant promotions, the battalion command list, the new pay scales when there's a raise, etc. on the military times papers before the official word percolates down the chain.
But you're right that their editorial position is hard anti-war, insultingly anti-soldier, and pro-Democratic Party (but I repeat myself).
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
This story did not come from any information released by anyone authorized to release information. There are accurate parts, inaccurate parts, parts that I won't say if they're accurate, and parts that I have no way of knowing about.
What this is, is a reporter repeating scuttlebutt or barrack-room bull from various REMFs. You can bet your pension that no member of the Rangers, or of any of those other units, assuming for the sake of argument that they do exist, gave that reporter this information. (The military can conduct a very effective OPSEC briefing). Some intel weenie who has been wandering out of his lane on the SIPRnet, or some FOBbit officer (I'd start the interrogations on the JAGs...) stitched together a blanket of fact, guesswork, and supposition and went boasting to a reporter. The reporter stirs it a bit, adds some juice as they love to do, and presto! It's a story.
Both the leakers and the reporters belong in Leavenworth. Even if the leak is wrong or inconsequential. (We had a case one time where some weenie made up a story for a reporter, and unbeknownst to him, he blew a real intel operation, because the increased security looking for his phony one stumbled over it).
Finally, there's the tantalizing possibility that some element of this is a barium meal, and the CI bloodhounds are already on the trail of Chatty Cathy, whoever he may be. I would like to think this is the case.
I'd like to address one side issue: black/white special operations. These terms are used to distinguish between denied (or deniable) elements and operations and overt elements and operations. The USG makes no official statements about the specific assigned elements, if any, and operations, if any, of JSOC. Therefore almost everything you read about JSOC is unsupported speculation and unsourced hearsay.
Black/White/Gray are also used to describe attribution in psychological operations or information operations. White is "we said it." Black is "It looks like them saying it, but it's us making them look bad." And Gray is "Good luck trying to prove who's really behind this." I believe this longstanding use in psywar theory (dating to before Special Forces formed in 1952), is the ultimate source of the black/white thing that has made such a stir.
The point several people made, that the DOD is not getting the word of success out, is true. However, that is because the DOD mostly goes to the public through the MSM, which is pretty much on the Zarkman's side in this whole thing. (They always figure they can switch back before he gets to TriBeCa). To get positive stories (and yes, some negative ones) without the blood-and-guts BS angle that this reporter has thrown in, check out DefenseLink.mil. Try to get Centcom's "Advisor" magazine emailed to you, also.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Thanks. That's what my reading affirms.
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