U.S. Special Forces Fighting with Swords on Horseback

NewsMax ^ | November 18, 2001 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

Sunday Nov. 18, 2001; 7:41 p.m. EST

U.S. Special Forces Fighting with Swords on Horseback

U.S. Special Forces fighting in Afghanistan have joined with Northern Alliance cavalry units, riding on horseback and brandishing swords, revealed Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz on Sunday.

Wolfowitz confirmed the unusual arrangement on CBS's "Face the Nation."

"One of the reasons why it took a few weeks before we could make our air power fully effective was we had to get people in on the ground to direct air strikes," he noted, before reading what he said was a dispatch from the front lines as a stunned Bob Schieffer looked on.

WOLFOWITZ: I have with me a dispatch that came from one of our Special Forces guys who was literally riding horseback with a sword with one of the Northern Alliance....

SCHIEFFER: With a sword?

WOLFOWITZ: With a sword. With a Northern Alliance group of several hundred people who had nothing but horses and rifles. And he said:

"I am advising a man on how best to deploy light infantry and horse cavalry in the attack against Taliban tanks, mortars, artillery and machine guns -- a tactic I think became outdated with the invention of the Gatling gun. The Mujahadeen are doing very well with what they have but they couldn't do it without the close air support."

And he then goes on to describe how two of his enlisted people, one Air Force and one Army, had called in air strikes possibly - certainly from aircraft carriers, maybe from bombers in Missouri - while Taliban artillery was hitting 15 meters away. (End of Excerpt)

Wolfowitz called the effort "a return of the horse cavalry," but added, "no horse cavalry in history before this could call in air strikes from long range bombers."

"Do the people in Special Forces know how to ride horses?" an incredulous Schieffer asked. "I mean, there's a difference between jumping on a horse and hanging on and being able to ride it. Are they trained to ride horses?"

Wolfowitz said he wasn't sure but explained, "Apparently these guys were. They're trained in an extraordinary range of survival skills and local customs and languages. They're quite an amazing group."

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

Al-Qaeda
War on Terrorism

[jpthomas]

U.S. special forces troops ride horseback as they work with members of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom on Nov. 12, 2001. DoD photo. (Released) (The U.S. troopers are in the lighter colored clothing.)

A sure-fire way to earn the respect of Afghans is to display good horsemanship. Their national sport, Buzkashi, is played on horseback, and involves snatching a goat carcass from the ground, carrying it across a field and flinging it into the opponent's goal. All while a host of opponents are doing everything in their power to wrest the "ball" away from you.

[SamAdams76]

With the help of technology and a few good horses, U.S. Special Forces are aggressively pursuing Osama bin Laden.

[MeekOneGOP]

Excellent. A true American Icon:

General George S. Patton, Jr. (1885 - 1945)

---

Thanks for your contribution!

[slimer]

So much for the U.S. being a paper tiger theory.

[Rose in RoseBear]

"Do the people in Special Forces know how to ride horses?" an incredulous Schieffer asked. "I mean, there's a difference between jumping on a horse and hanging on and being able to ride it. Are they trained to ride horses?"

I marvel anew at the ignorance displayed by the media! The modern pentathlon, a Summer Olympic event, consists of pistol shooting, swimming, fencing, a cross-country equestrian event, and cross-country running. (These were the skills necessary for any military courier to have mastered in the days before reliable wireless battlefield transmissions.) Most of the American contestants in the modern pentathlon are military --- they (used to) train at Fort Sam Houston in my hometown of San Antonio. Bobby Schieffer might be quite surprised at how many people in the modern military can ride and handle horses.

These "Special Forces" soldiers are really special, you know. There's not much they can't do, no matter how "primitive" or "low-tech" the task may be. They are trained to interface with the indigenous populations and "be down" with them. If that means drinking fermented mare's milk and eating other non-Western foods, so be it. If that means riding a horse competently all day long and taking care of that horse afterward, so be it. If that means wielding a scimitar in protection of himself and his horse and his fellows, so be it. If they were the type to dither in battle or turn up their noses at other cultures, they probably wouldn't be in the Special Forces.

As civilians, I don't think we truly appreciate how good these guys really are at what they do.

[maestro]

200,000,000 horses needed in the future.
Revelation 9:16

[Ford Fairlane]

When I was in ROTC in the 80's, our Drill Sergeant had been in an active mounted cavalry unit out west somewhere (i think Kansas). It was supposed to be some kind of living museum, but he said they had practiced some hypothetical situations using close air support. He was of the opinion it would be very valuable where ground vehicles were not practical, but at the time the brass thought it was a waste of money.

Of course our main enemy then was the Soviet Union.

[walden]

"(I am not speaking of the horses rear ends, of which we CERTAINLY have more now than any time in history!)"

Reminds me of the North Carolina Equine Paradox: the ratio of horses asses to horses is everywhere greater than 1.

[Fred25]

No kidding very cool. This war is going to make a great movie!!!

It will certainly be better than those stupid “Desert Storm” sand movies. This one’s got women, kids, young female missionary prisoners, cavalry, and probably a few Indians.

[Lady In Blue]

Just like "LAWRENCE OF ARABIA!

[marktwain]

The fellows in special forces are very good. I've know a fair number and trained a few. They are truely an elite.

[GOPJ]

Way cool.

It will certainly be better than those stupid “Desert Storm” sand movies. This one’s got women, kids, young female missionary prisoners, cavalry, and probably a few Indians.

[GretchenEE]

Somewhere, George S. Patton is grinning from ear to effing ear.

Not to mention Teddy Roosevelt. ;-)

[GretchenEE]

The hardy horses - hardy horsemen seem to run in the region. Gurkas To Enter the Action [in Afghanistan]

[RichInOC]

Hadn't thought about him, but I bet you're right.

[StoneColdGOP]

I have the Indiana Jones theme music in my head after reading this...

[Nitro]

In a way old Lawrence is responsible for what is going on today. Since he was instrumental in uniting the Arabs!!

[ksen]

Hey! who's that guy in the helmet? He looks nothing like George C. Scott!

Imposter.

;^)

-ksen

[300winmag]

They have a strong Arab influence (unsurprisingly) which means that, like Thoroughbreds, they are considered hot-blooded, though they have less refinement and a less-elegant way of going than pure Arabs. Kazakh and Karabair horses are tough, intelligent, and fast, with amazing endurance and the ability to subsist on small amounts of forage.

With their high percentage of Arab blood, these breeds of horses are naturals for competitive endurance riding, or war. Their intelligence makes them easier to train, and if raised properly, easier to handle. All important items when all you have is your horse, a saber, and a AK-47.

I was going to say that the only things good that came from the Arabs where Arab horses, and arabic numerals. Then I remembered that the numbers actually came from India, and the horses were around 3000+ years before Mohammed.