generalspeaking

It's Been Done - Called The Mossad

The newly-appointed U.S. commander in Afghanistan has quite the curriculum vitae. Starting with his academic education, a B.S., U.S. Military Academy; M.A. in national security and strategic studies, U.S. Naval War College; M.S. in international relations, Salve Regina University, he appears as a new breed of academic-military men. He's had ample military experience, commanding the 74th Ranger Regiment, tours of duty in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. Army's chief of staff in Afghanistan, head of the Joint Special Operations Command in the military.

He is well-positioned, given his education, experience and tactical engineering of a new type of joint fighting force using specially trained forces, science and technology to organize a unit whose war-footing is somewhat unorthodox, out of the stream of a regular army unit, secretive and covert. His personal dedication to the complex marriage of intelligence, technology and rapid-strike teams waging a conflict to balance that of guerrillas waging their strike-and-flee techniques is responsive to that type of challenge.

He might try using his intelligence and expertise in 'black operations' in tracking down just how it is that modern arms and munitions supplied at great cost by the United States to the Afghanistan army and police are somehow finding their way into the possession of the Taliban, making it even more difficult for allied troops in that country to counter the increasingly successful Taliban offensives, enabling them to take possession of greater portions of the country.

Lieutenant-General Stanley McChrystal's refining of his special operations branch he terms "collaborative warfare" integrating signals intercepts, human intelligence, spy planes and forensic sciences representing a top-secret strike body, sets him apart from his peers, and has given him an air of special mystique. Their purpose to track and kill terrorists in lightning-quick raids. Sounds familiar. Sounds very much like something that Israel perfected.

All the latest in technology in intelligence-gathering electronics is useful but there is nothing quite so successful as human intelligence, and the ability of secret agents to conscript spies to work on their behalf, divulging classified information, or data that can be useful in understanding and clarifying the tactics and priorities and placements of opponents' strategies. As such, Israel has long been considered the high-point in achieving 'human intelligence'.

Israel's Mossad agency has long been recognized as a pioneer in the techniques now being ascribed to the West Point's Lieutenant-General McChrystal. His Joint Special Operations Command's reputation as hard-boiled, practical and practised warriors has accrued a reputation not quite admired by Human Rights Watch; they are not immune to using extreme methods of physical coercion or psychological abuse to extract information of detainees.

Nor are they squeamish about tracking and killing, and conducting swiftly successful armed raids on targets they have determined exist to the detriment of the United States. Those targets named and recognized as leaders of al-Qaeda, insurgent leaders, renegade militia leaders, and general high-value targeting of terrorists and jihadists known to be involved in anti-American activities.

Are they prepared to give credit for their inspiration where it is due?

Labels: Conflict, Political Realities, United States

posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, May 20, 2009