The US Army Special Forces' Success in Afghanistan Because of Previous Experiences - Assignment Example

US Army Special Forces United States armed forces are famous for their brilliance at home and abroad. A strong emphasis on training and excellence prepares the soldiers to undertake great challenges. Additionally, the establishment of Special Forces boosted the training and preparedness levels. These forces, essentially working under direct orders of the Central Command, got an extensive training in warfare, special assignments, insurgency, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism. Army was not keen on establishing a specialized force until the Second World War. At the time, the vast engagement of military personnel in different geographies and warfronts forced the military establishments to redefine its plans. An ordinary deployment of troops with average psychological operations was not enough in countering the onslaught of Japanese and German forces. The army needed a specially trained force that can be involved in covert missions and guerilla attacks. The start of the Cold War provided an excellent opportunity in this regard. Russian Federation had already started recruiting military personnel for counter-insurgency and espionage. US, on the other hand, did not consider this option until 1952. At the time, the military top-shots planned the establishment of Special Forces under the umbrella of US Army Psychological Warfare Division.1 Robert A. McClure became the first head of 10th Special Forces Group in June 1952. The Special Forces started wearing the famous “Green Beret” in 1953. Since then, Special Forces have taken part in a variety of military and counter-insurgency operations. As against to organized warfare, Special Forces are trained to penetrate deep into the enemy territory and carry out their offensive. This strategy, when coupled with an efficient military planning, can result in a quick capturing of enemy territories with minimal loss of life. Special Forces took an active part during the Vietnam conflict. The participated in covert operations and undertook many offensives during that time. Their performance, however, came under fire, as there were some allegations of high handedness and violation of human rights. Aside from this controversy, their role during the war was exemplary. Special Forces, after years of dormancy, saw a massive engagement after the terrorist attacks on Twin Towers and Pentagon on September 11, 2001. US, along with NATO allies, invaded Afghanistan in October 2001. Northern Alliance, a staunch enemy of Taliban, played an active role in helping American forces in capturing Kabul and Kandahar without much difficulty. However, another force was equally involved in this process. It was the Special Forces2. US Army ordered the Green Berets to embark on an undercover offensive with the Northern Alliance. Their main duty was to train and align the unorganized personnel of Northern Alliance and seek their geographical knowledge to carry out attacks against the Taliban. At the initial stage, they also served as spotters for US bombing missions. Green Berets helped in guarding the future president Hamid Karzai and Kandahar governor Gul Agha Shirazi. Green Berets relied heavily on the support of Northern Alliance, especially Uzbek general Rashid Dostum. Dostum provided the Special Forces with all the geographical and ethnical expertise of the region. Taliban, an ethnic Pashtun group, was mainly supportive of Taliban. Other ethnicities, however, sided with the US and started an active cherry picking of Taliban fighters. This was both an easy and difficult exercise. Pashtun tribes inhabit the eastern borders of the country with Pakistan and share religious and ethnic bonds with the Pakistani population. Al-Qaeda operative, embedded deep into the Pashtun culture, also fled into Pakistani tribal region following the invasion. Initially, the major Al-Qaeda leaders sought refuge in the Tora Bora region that is located close to Pakistani borders. Green Berets and other divisions of US Special Forces penetrated the area and carried out offensives against those in hiding. Additionally, they also acted as spotters for the air strikes. They, however, were not able to catch any major leader of Al-Qaeda. Apart from this failure, they were able to catch Taliban leaders, except Mullah Omar. The common factor during all these raids and offensive was the lack of a strong bonding with the local geography and people.3 To trace the success of this phenomenon, a retrospect into the initial days of Special Forces and their involvement during the Vietnam War is necessary. Even more important is to look back at the origins of Special Forces and their precursor: The Office of Strategic Services or OSS. During the Second World War, the fighting moved from the European theatre to French colonies of Northern Africa, especially Algeria. Additionally, American Army conducted covert operations in the interior regions of France to aid General De Gaulle’s Forces Francaises de Interieur, or FFI. They lend a major support to the Maquis of interior France. Maquis were a guerilla force of French resistance fighters that fought against the advancing army of Germans4. American and British forces aided them in their insurgent attacks. In fact, they got all the material support from the American forces that were working covertly in the region. The safeguarding and ultimate invasion of Normandy in June 1944 was a direct result of this cover operation, named as Operation Overload.5 As mentioned earlier, the OSS also employed covert operatives in North Africa. Although the scope of covert operations was limited and mostly in the Algerian region, American and British troops successfully guarded the Moroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian territories from the Germans. The military expedition, named Operation Torch, included present day Algeria and Morocco. General Mark W. Clark requested an OSS contingent as an addendum to his Fifth Army in the region.6 Operation Torch, in its entirety, focused on espionage of both the French and German advancements in the region. The major part of action revolved around the information gained during 1941 and 1942. This was the first espionage and covert strike agency of the American military. The army later applied this strategy to Normandy and other regions of France. This was the time when the American commanding officers recognized the importance of employing covert operatives and planting them with the local resistance movements. The invasion of Normandy and ultimate defeat of Germans paved the way for the establishment of Special Forces. As mentioned earlier, the covert operations conducted under the OSS acted only as a precursor to the establishment of Special Forces. The actual planning for the creation of a special force still took six years to materialize. The Vietnam War changed the dynamics of Special Forces and their role in either winning or sustaining a military offensive in an enemy territory. The first Special Forces Group, with its inception in Japan during 1957, saw the rise of Viet Cong in the early 1950s. The rise of a militant communist group at the very center of South East Asia ringed alarms in American military quarters. The first Special Forces Group, with its base in Japan, sent covert missions to Vietnam to observe the rise of communist guerrillas. France had already tried and failed to bring peace to the region. The brutal history of Indo-China wars and the tough resistance forces in the region hampered the initial efforts to contain the communist threat. At the same time, US military envoys started a semi-diplomatic campaign to engage the Vietnamese government. The side-by-side operation did not achieve the assigned goals of encouraging the local regime to take on communist guerillas. The Kennedy administration’s decision of sending American troops in the region changed the dynamics of the conflict. The famous saying of President Kennedy goes like this, "Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place."7 Special Forces, as essential part of the offensive, took part in the very first military expedition to Vietnam. The first Special Forces Group made the first amphibious landing in the Vietnamese territory. Later on, other Special Forces unit joined forces and launched a mega offensive against the communist guerillas. The assassination of Kennedy and the subsequent strong headedness of Lyndon B. Johnson resulted in a massive deployment of American troops. The offensive against the Communists, however, remained inconclusive. At that time, the Special Forces started interactions with the indigenous Degar tribes. These tribes occupied the strategically important central highlands of Vietnam. Degars, with a population of around 4 million, were resisting the onslaught of Viet Cong forces. American Special Forces thus saw Degars as a strategic asset in the fight against Viet Cong.8 They trained Degars on the use of weapons and instructed them on using espionage methods. US Army Rangers and the 1st Special Forces Group were equally involved in this campaign. Initially, they faced many difficulties in reaching out to Degars. Both parties were afraid of each other and there was a lack of trust. With the passage of time, however, Degars started taking an active part in the combat against Viet Cong. Special Forces taught them on making improvised explosives, ambushing convoys of Viet Cong personnel, and planting land mines.9 This training, along with a continuous surveillance by the Special Forces, paid rich tributes. Degars were able to cut off the supply lines on the strategic Ho Chi Minh Trail. The trail passed through the Degars’ homeland and was the sole route of supply to Viet Cong forces in the north. Around 40,000 Degars fought with the Americans in drawing Viet Cong out of their territories. They also taught the American forces of local customs and sensitivities. The folk knowledge and expertise in the local behaviors enabled American forces to achieve some initial victories. The fall of American forces started with the implementation of Nixon Doctrine. The new policy against the rising tide of communists focused on political moves instead of a continued offensive. It also removed the notion that the US government will directly get involved in armed conflicts. Instead, the US government decided to provide military and political aid to its allies in their fight against communism. The role of Special Forces immediately after the implementation of Nixon Doctrine and the ultimate capturing of American soldiers raises many questions. While the critics of Special Forces opine that they failed to launch any major attack on Viet Cong, supporters laud their efforts to free prisoners of war. They cite the example of the Son Tay Mission, where Special Forces launched a covert strike on a POW camp. Although the mission failed as the Viet Cong shifted the prisoners to another camp, the execution was successful.10 The failure was due to massive flaws in the intelligence gathering system. Spies reported the presence of 70 POW in the camp. They confirmed their presence over a period of 20 days. The Special Forces accordingly prepared for the raid. Viet Cong moved the POW to another camp just a nigh before due to a massive flash flood. Intelligence operatives failed to gather this information. The raid would have been successful if there had been no intelligence flaws. Otherwise, as mentioned earlier, the execution remained successful with minor casualties and loss of one aircraft. The failure of this mission, however, diminished the value of Special Forces. The forces, in return, also embarked on a process of reformation. The grave mistakes made during the Vietnam War prompted them to employ self-retrospect and come up with workable solutions.11 Gulf War in 1991 provided a moderate opportunity of excellence for the Special Forces. Their deployment in the region, especially during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm was not very encouraging. Air Force Special Operations Command played a more proactive role in this regard. Invasion of Afghanistan thus provided the first major opportunity for the Special Forces to regain their lost glory. As mentioned earlier, Special Forces participated in the first offensive against the Taliban in October 2001. Although they were unable to catch Al-Qaeda leaders or Mullah Omer (they escaped to border regions of Pakistan), Green Berets and other Special Forces units seized major Taliban leaders. The failure in capturing Osama bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda leaders was a direct result of an ineffective planning. Fifth Group Green Berets was the main fighting unit in both northern and central Afghanistan. It relied heavily on the support of Tajiks and Uzbeks to capture Taliban militants. These people rode on horsebacks and traveled with the local informants on dangerous hilly tracts and deserts. The Special Forces combed the region for traces of Taliban strongholds and fought many battles. Despite huge logistic and cultural difficulties, Green Berets lead the offensive against the repressive Taliban regime. The siege on Kabul lasted for just a couple of days. Before the deployment of regular US Army and NATO forces, Green Berets had already completed the groundwork. The top military leaders, however, made a major mistake of not involving any Pashtun: the ethnic group of Taliban and main supporters of Al-Qaeda. This strategy resulted in the escape of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar along with Ayman-al-Zawahiri and other Al-Qaeda top shots.12 Although Green Berets had a strong presence in the Tora Bora region, they did not get any major support from the regular forces. Fighting against the Taliban thus became an impossible task for them.13 The reliance on General Dostum, however, paid heavy tributes, as they were able to arrest thousands of Taliban operatives. In January 2002, Green Berets launched a major offensive against the Taliban in the Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif region. The later is a political stronghold of Dostum while the former is located in the Pashtun heartland. Green Berets were successful in securing Mazar and capturing Taliban operatives in the region. Here, they employed the techniques of Vietnam in ensuring a timely success. Just like Degars, Uzbeks are ethnically different from the Pashtun. Both share an age-old rivalry of interests. Special Forces used this rivalry to their benefit. They penetrated the region and forged an alliance with the Uzbeks. The later then carried out a massive search operation that resulted in an effective capturing of all Taliban militants. Green Berets’ operations in the southern Afghanistan were rather inconclusive as well. Although they helped Hamid Karzai and Gul Agha Shirazi in capturing Kandahar, surrounding areas were still under control of Taliban. In fact, Karzai narrowly escaped a Taliban attack near Kandahar. Similarly, Shirazi had to remain under Berets’ protection for 24 hours a day. Despite the initial confusion and difficulty in operations, Green Berets managed to gain some basic knowledge about the region. Additionally, they tried to make inroads into the Pashtun society. Pashtuns, on a whole, are a tribal society with strong religious and cultural bonds. Their population is present across the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Known for their fiercely tribal nature and aggressive behaviors, it was not easy to tame them to work for the US. Green Berets, in particular, started this reach out campaign because they were operating in the eastern Afghanistan region. The border with Pakistan and the complexities involved made it almost impossible to penetrate into that area without the support of locals. They thus took a cautious approach in this regard. Taliban used the local villagers to fish out information about the movement of American convoys. After the confirmation of information, they used to plant Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and making ambushes on the convoys. Green Berets took the same approach and started making liaison with the Pashtun villagers. They employed translators to get their message across the village elders. Another approach was the use of goodwill gestures. The heavily impoverished Pashtuns needed some financial and infrastructural help in improving their lives. Green Berets thus started goodwill missions where they used to visit a village and build infrastructure for the locals. They would also distribute sweets among the children. The major mission remains the recruitment of informers amongst the Pashtuns. This is not an easy task as compared to building goodwill gestures of distributing fruits and sweets among the children. Pashtuns, as mentioned above, follow a set rules and tribal traditions. Many view Taliban insurgency as a just struggle against the ‘infidels’. Winning over their sympathies requires both a calculated approach and some quick strategies14. Hamid Karzai and some Pashtun warlords can play a greater role in this regard. Unfortunately, both do not enjoy a good credibility amongst an ordinary Pashtun. Given the tough demographic and ethnical challenges in the region, Green Berets have adopted an approach of strong offensive against Taliban. They have increased surveillance on the border regions with Pakistan. Additionally, they are training Afghan forces to carry out these offensives on their own. Initial efforts to train Afghan army were a daunting task. For the start, there was no organized army in Afghanistan. Each warlord had his own set of loyal mercenaries that did not have a proper military training. There were also some reports of major human rights violations by these mercenary forces. The need for establishing a proper Afghan army and giving them an organized military training thus became a major challenge for Americans. Green Berets again came to the rescue. While the US Marines conducted the basic training, Green Berets were responsible for setting up special units of Afghan army. Green Berets trained these special units to tackle the Taliban issue. The actual training, however, involved combined mission with Green Berets. The Afghans learnt many lessons during this practical training. Along with the training sessions for the Afghan army, Green Berets and other units of Special Forces had to continue their offensive against Taliban. After the initial success in 2002, Taliban gathered in the tribal regions of Pakistan and started a massive insurgency in the border regions. As the American forces were involved in the Iraq War, Afghanistan saw resurgence in attacks on military convoys. The situation became so worse that the capital city of Kabul came under frequent attacks. Suicide bombings, in particular, damaged the security apparatus of NATO forces. Here, Green Berets saw another addition to their long list of duties in Afghanistan. The time had come to tackle Taliban at their playing field. American Marines asked for the help of Green Berets in the border regions of Afghanistan in 2004. Pakistan, on the other hand, was negotiating with Taliban fighters in its own territory. Apparently, they reached some agreements where Pakistanis granted immunity to fighters coming from Afghanistan15. These agreements destroyed the huge preparations of a massive operation in the border regions. Taliban fighters fled to Pakistan as they found it to be their safe haven. That time was difficult for the US Army in general and Green Berets in particular. The Pakistani government blasted their preparations and intelligence gathering mechanism. Pessimism, however, is not a word in the dictionary of Green Berets. The peace agreements with Taliban failed in Pakistan and the government started a counter terrorism operation in that region. Facing a double jeopardy, some Taliban returned to Afghanistan and resumed their terrorist activities. This time, Green Berets did not waste any time. US Army launched a massive operation against the Taliban in 2005. Pakistan, on the other hand, stopped the offensive because of a rising public outcry against the government. A sizable number of Pakistanis support the Taliban. Additionally, the country has many political parties with a representation in the parliament. The complex political structure made it almost impossible for the Pakistani government to mobilize troops and fight the Taliban. The lack of cooperation from the Pakistani government did not stop the US Army, along with the NATO forces, to continue their offensive. With a strong aerial support, Green Berets penetrated the region and busted many Taliban outfits. Pakistani government ultimately agreed to start a ‘real’ military campaign against the Taliban in 2009. While the offensive is already in progress in Afghanistan, a strong anti-Taliban operation in Pakistan can result in a possible capture of Osama Bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda leaders that are hiding in the tribal regions of Pakistan. Central Intelligence Agency, in unison with Pakistan, is conducting predator drone attacks in the region to kill Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. It has some major successes in this regard. Pakistani government needs to show more sincerity in capturing and uprooting Taliban from their strong base in the tribal region16. Special Forces are also involved in launching a campaign against the drug production in Afghanistan. Warlords and tribal elders promote the growth of poppy and hemp. Unfortunately, many of them are part of the Afghan government. This situation hampers the effectiveness of Green Berets. If given a free hand, they can put everyone to task. A deeper integration with the local society will also improve their working conditions. Green Berets have done a commendable job in this regard and are striving to act better in future. References Blaufarb, Douglass S. the Counterinsurgency Era: U.S. Doctrine and Performance. New York: The Free Press, 1977. Bostdorff, Denise. Idealism and pragmatism in American foreign policy rhetoric, 1994. Retrieved August 28, 2009 from http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/goldzwig.htm Gallagher, James J. Low-Intensity Conflict Harrisburg: Stackpole Books, 1992. Gargus, John. The Son Tay Raid: American POWs in Vietnam Were Not Forgotten. Texas A&M University Press, 2007. Leebaert, Derek. To Dare & To Conquer: Special Operations and the Destiny of Nations, from Achilles to Al Qaeda: Little, Brown and Company, 2006. Moorhead, Eleony. The OSS and Operation TORCH: The Beginning of the Beginning, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2009 from http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic571625.files/The%20OSS%20and%20Operation%20TORCH.pdf O'Donnell, Patrick K. Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs: The Unknown Story of the Men and Women of World War II's OSS. Free Press, 2004. Pimlott, John. Guerrilla Warfare: Bison Books, 1982. Stanton, Doug. Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan. Scribner, 2009. Yarborough, William P. Guerrilla Warfare and Counterinsurgency Toronto: Lexington Books, 1989. Read More