The conventional military should not be expected to do counter-insurgency and nation-building anyway. They aren’t trained to do it. We need professional soldiers and civilians who have the education, training, and inclination for that very specialized work. Fortunately, we have a foundation in special operations. Back in the 1960’s, President John F. Kennedy was a great proponent of special warfare. The iconic special warfare school at Fort Bragg is even named after him. It’s not a coincidence that he also started the Peace Corps, which is the closest civilian counterpart to the Green Berets. By this, I mean the real Green Berets, the ones who know the local language, live in villages, and work side-by-side with their indigenous friends. If we are going to win the War on Terror, we’ll need a bigger Special Operations Command and a bigger Peace Corps.
The bin Laden raid may have created a misleading impression of special forces. The average American believes that special operations are about nighttime raids and elite strike forces. Such surgical strike capabilities are, no doubt, an important part of special operations. For many years now, elite units like the 75th Ranger Regiment have conducted thousands of such strike operations. With drone strikes, they have become the primary way that the United States engages in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism. And they’re really good at it. The vast majority of the time, these units capture their target. What is less known is that nobody gets hurt most of the time—not the American soldiers, not the target, not any bystanders. These soldiers are well-trained and well-equipped and exhibit the highest professional standards. But they represent only one element of special operations.
Most of the military is about the domination of physical space. The Army dominates the land, the Navy the sea, and so on. And they are about minimizing risk. They put as much force as possible at the point of attack to maximize effects and minimize casualties (well, their own casualties). Special operations is about maximizing opportunity and human engagement. In the Phillippines during World War II, some Americans escaped Japanese internment and the Bataan death march. Under Major Russell Volckmann, they formed a Filipino guerilla army in Luzon that fought the Japanese occupation throughout the war. Volckmann later became influential in the development of unconventional warfare doctrine with special operations. The original Afghan invasion was—in my view—the ultimate expression of the power of special operations. With apologies to Vice President Biden, it was the most audacious military undertaking since Cortez. A very short time after the 9/11 attacks, 350 soldiers under then-Colonel John Mulholland joined with the Northern Alliance and other Afghans as part of Task Force Dagger. The local tribes gave them horses, even the Air Force combat controllers who were there to call in air strikes from half a world away. Their first battle was October 21 against a dusty town called Bishqab. By December, the Taliban had collapsed and Hamid Karzai was ruling a provisional government in Kabul. There were only a handful of American casualties during this time. A statue of a Special Forces soldier on horseback, called the America’s Response Monument, sits in front of One World Trade Center in New York to commemorate the daring feats. Oddly, these amazing events have never received the accolades they are due. But they represent how American power can be truly effective in this new era. America’s technology and know-how certainly turned the tide in the conflict, but in the end it was the Afghans themselves who overthrew the Taliban. In the best tradition of special operations, Mulholland’s forces acted by, with and through their Afghan allies. They built a relationship of mutual trust and respect, a foundation that has slowly deteriorated since that time. Done with patience, such techniques can change the world. Sadly, the public sees special operations in a very different light and don’t understand the value they truly provide.
The original Task Force Dagger—small, nimble, opportunistic, and backed by overwhelming air support—is a model for military intervention and strategic engagement, but it flies in the face of conventional military and political thinking. The vast majority of military leaders are from the conventional forces, and they want to plan for “Air Sea Battle” against China, not messy asymmetric wars. Politicians want instant, push-button wars that are over in months, so they can take credit before the next election. Americans are tired of costly, protracted conflicts with poorly conceived objectives. Many fear globalization, which they associate with unemployment and terrorism. Young people are wondering what their lives will be like in this new era, when their counterparts in India and Brazil are just as educated but willing to work for next to nothing by American standards. To me, the answer is simple. Embrace the change. Be a part of it. Create the future you want. We don’t need to fear Mali. We need to be there. The young people who matter will be the ones who join Special Forces or the Peace Corps or become missionaries or go into international business. It is engagement on a human level that will make a difference. Our military and our government need to rebuild institutions that will be relevant in 2050. Those institutions should be designed to conduct the next great American enterprise—that of bringing the human family into the modern age by helping those around the world who are fighting terror and extremism and building businesses and civil institutions in their communities. Our technology provides the opportunity to make this happen. Social media, advanced analytics, and consumer-driven personal technology can all work in our favor to break down barriers and empower a rising tide of freedom and prosperity that benefits America because it benefits everyone. In terms of the War on Terror, we need to abandon many of the structures we built for the Cold War so we can breathe life into new institutions built for the Long War. Only then can we succeed in places like Afghanistan and Iraq and truly honor those who put their lives on the line in Abbottabad and countless other, less-well-known battlefields since September 11, 2001.
For more information on Coptech LLC training and consulting services, see www.coptechllc.com.
