Posted on 09/06/2004 1:48:45 PM PDT by Calpernia
Readers of Tom Clancy are probably familiar with his book, Rainbow Six, which focuses on the work of an elite team of terror fighting commandos, who were formed to respond to terror attacks, especially those involving hostages. The team was formed in the sequel to his book Executive Orders, where the US Capitol building was destroyed by a terrorist acting on his own, and the US was hit by multiple attacks including one involving bioweapons.
As Clancy readers will tell you, quite often Clancy’s fictional writings draw striking parallels to reality.
We need look no further than the tragedy that occurred this week in the Russian republic of Ossetia, where over a thousand school children and their parents were held hostage by Islamic terrorists, and then hundreds were massacred.
Criticism has been heaped upon the Russians for their handling of the incident. But what country is in fact equipped to deal with a tragedy of this nature? I would dare to suggest that there are not many.
If there is one thing that I have learned from many years of studying Al Qaeda and their operations it is this: they tell us what they are going to do, and they do it.
No, they don’t make it quite that easy. They don’t tell us when or where, but they tell us what and how. They publish their plans for murder and mayhem for all to read.
This will not be the only incident of this nature; Al Qaeda has put too much emphasis on publishing the how-to’s. More assassinations and kidnapping operations are on the horizon, based on their internet announcements.
Many of the incidents could be prevented before they actually happen by extra vigilance. In this case, it appears that the terrorists were involved in the remodeling of the gym of the school this summer. They not only knew their way around the premises, but they appear to have prepositioned weapons and explosives, hiding them under the floorboards of the gym. (This technique has been used in the past. The President of Chechnya was assassinated earlier this year by an explosive device prepositioned when a stadium was constructed.) Those responsible for facilities and for construction need to be alert for this scenario.
But no amount of vigilance is going to stop all attacks. They will certainly continue; the genie is already out of the bottle. We must have a plan of response.
I am publicly calling for the establishment of a multinational team of special forces, not under control of the United Nations but under it’s own aegis, similar to other multinational military coalitions which have been formed over the years.
I would expect Israel, the United States, Great Britain, and Russia to head up this team, but other countries would certainly participate.
This force would be a rapid deployment force, divided into 5 or 6 different groups, each prepositioned at a different location globally to ensure that a team can reach the site of a hostage situation as quickly as possible. That means one positioned in Europe, the US, South America, eastern Russia, Australia, Southeast Asia, and probably North Africa.
Each of these teams would have the best available equipment, as well as expertise in psychology, negotiations, crowd control, explosives, weaponry, hostage rescue, and evaluating the situation. They would be able to go in, assess the situation, and devise a plan to minimize chaos and maximize the chances of getting the hostages out alive.
Although no one team could handle a situation with as many hostages as the school takeover this week, it would certainly be able to provide the leadership and expertise for law enforcement and military forces already on the scene. A multi-day scenario would also provide for more time for one or more of the other teams to arrive on the scene.
Such a force would certainly save lives.
It’s time for one to be created.
We know from experience terrorists want to bring their murder and mayhem to the US homeland again. We must be prepared. Please contact your Senators and Congressmen, and tell them you want one created.
Now.
I shall recede and accept that description. ;)
..never mind..i confused myself too... ;)
Since we have seen how Russia and others have mishandled counter terrorsim actions.....
I don't want our special operators having anything to do with international folks. If they want to lend support...or come and learn from our boys....fine....
but we should never weaken our best assets by having them as part of a multinational force.
And that's a flattering picture.
I agree. And NO foreign forces fighting HERE IN AMERICA, all American troops are always in an American chain of command and the proper consideration and weight of the U.S. Constitution is measured into the equation.
Just Damn
Hear, Hear!!
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