SP Forces - Please READ!

[OJR]

Subject: SP Forces

My Own Iraq Study Group

Written by Don Bendell

Thursday, December 07, 2006

This morning, my wife started crying when we listened to

the long-awaited findings of the Iraq Study Group.

She said, “Just great! We have two sons in harm’s way, and

they have a bunch of gray-haired old geezers with political agendas

trying to influence how they will fight in this war, and none of them

have a clue how to fight or win!”

For some time now, I have been conducting my own Iraq Study

Group, but I asked fellow Green Berets and former Green Berets working

for the CIA who have lived with the Iraqi and the Afghani people, men

of the U.S. Army Special Forces, the highest trained military unit in

the world, who are experienced at training people to fight their own

battles. WE DO NOT NEED AN IRAQ STUDY GROUP. We need to use the

resources we already have and do things right, and we will most

definitely win in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Based on my Iraq Study Group, this is how we should

prosecute the war and how we will win i:

Tariq and Abdullah ran through the alleyway between the

rows of high buildings in Baghdad not far from the Green Zone. One

carried the baseplate for the 60MM mortar and the other, the mortar

itself. They each carried an HE (high explosive ) round in his

backpack. Tariq also carried a dead cat, with a high explosive IED

inside. He carefully placed the cat’s body on a crate, making it look

like the critter might be napping, and close to eye-level on a vehicle.

Then he stretched a trip wire across the alleyway and tied it off to a

pipe.

Moving away from the wire, and while Bayid, their friend,

waited two blocks away in his multi-colored Nissan taxi with the engine

running, they set up the baseplate, aimed it like they had practiced

over and over, and quickly fired both rounds in rapid succession

towards the armored cavalry headquarters located behind the high walls

of an old presidential palace. Before the deadly rounds even hit,

killing one American and wounding two more, the insurgents ran as fast

as they could to the waiting car and sped to another part of town.

Soldiers investigating shortly after would suffer two more wounded from

the dead cat IED. The attackers knew that their friend, Ayoob, who

worked as an interpreter for an NBC News crews in the Green Zone would

tell them later what kind of damage the two mortar rounds and the IED

had caused.

The story and names are fictional but the strategy is very real, but

easy to overcome. One major solution is to move all military

headquarters out of the cities and into the desert, so that insurgents

firing mortars or rockets at the U.S. military have to come at least

one mile out of a town and expose themselves to fire their weapons.

Then, we can pinpoint and eliminate them. Now the way it is, they have

numerous concrete and glass caves and asphalt labyrinths to easily move

through and hide in. Many Iraqi citizens are paid the equivalent of $

20 U.S. per month to act as lookouts or to simply look the other way as

insurgents move through their neighborhoods.

The other solution to this scenario is also common sense.

By far and away the largest percentage of our soldiers who are killed

or wounded are the victims of IED's, or Improvised Explosive Devices.

We were supposed to learn from the lessons of Vietnam, but we have

not. The Vietnam War proved to us that the helicopter is a very useful

tool. It is time to park and significantly limit all the wheeled and

tracked vehicles and start using helicopters more. Additionally, Apache

attack helicopters should accompany every major troop vehicle

movement. That also makes attackers more exposed to our fire.

In another fictional, but very typical anecdote, Special

Forces Sergeant First Class Jones, serving in Basrah as a team weapons

sergeant, had worked with one neighborhood in particular and was really

getting to know the citizenry who were starting to trust him and were

bringing him intelligence on a steady basis. It also helped that he

and his teammates dressed like Iraqis and spent money in the struggling

stores in the neighborhood. One of those stores was owned by Muhammad

who supported his family of seven and his late-brother’s family

of five, and all lived in the same little house. He was a Sunni and

his brother had been beaten and set on fire by Shiites. The

A-Detachment members realized that the Sunnis and Shias have been

killing each other for centuries, so they befriended both groups

separately, learned how to interact with both, and did not ever try to

force them to act like good friends.

Then a new conventional armored U.S. Army unit came into

the neighborhood. Seeing the shabbily-dressed Green Berets, the

commanding officer called the team commander, a young handsome West

Pointer, in to his office.

He said, “Captain, your unit is working OPCON to mine (Under

Operational Control) and your men do not look like soldiers. They are

to wear proper battledress from now and will be clean-shaven with

haircuts that are high and tight. The ABC reporter we have imbedded

with us could not believe it when I told him your men are Green

Berets.”

The captain argued with the colonel for five minutes to no avail. Then

later that week, when Muhammad was ready to leave for work to support

the 13 in his household, the armored unit got a report of insurgents in

the neighborhood. They immediately sent two Abrams tanks to the

opposite corners of the walled neighborhood, while a ground force

worked its way towards them. The two tanks churned up the asphalt in

the road, so Muhammad could not get his flimsy car to even drive down

his own street to go to his own store. The long barrel on one of the

main battle tanks, while the turret swiveled around, totally demolished

the privacy wall built by Muhammad’s second cousin behind his house.

Then, Muhammad and his two teen-aged sons, who were working to help

support the large brood as Iraqi police officers on graveyard shift, as

well as all other IAAM’s, (Iraqi Army-Aged Males) were rounded up and

herded into the playground of the local school. The men understood

this, but their little children did not when they were taken from their

homes like prisoners. Then the U.S. Army conventional unit spent the

entire day thoroughly checking the ID’s of each of the men from the

large neighborhood. The men understood that was necessary to find

insurgents even though it took money from their pockets making them

miss work. What the men did not understand though, was as the weeks

went on, this became a continuous process and the same men were

repeatedly checked for proper identification papers, detained all day,

and questioned.

On top of that, the team commander got a call from his B-team

commanding officer located in an air-conditioned office in the Green

Zone. The lieutenant colonel chewed out the captain for not conforming

to the rules set down by the Basrah commander. The captain argued his

case, which fell on deaf ears, as the lieutenant colonel had just

gotten an earful from a Marine general in charge of that part of the

country.

The solutions to these scenarios are also common sense and simple to

execute. We spend millions of dollars to qualify and train each

Special Forces operator (Green Beret). They are very well-trained to

conduct a counterinsurgency war, plus are trained in direct action

missions, as well as civil affairs and psychological operations. FOLLOW

THEIR LEAD. Do not make them serve OPCON, or under operational control

to a conventional unit that is not trained in counter-insurgency

warfare. The entire country of Iraq should be divided up with an

appropriate number of Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha, or

A-Teams, who live and work with the civilian populace. Conventional

commanders should report to them, not vice versa.

Instead, use conventional forces as a Quick Reaction Force in the same

way that the 5th Special Forces Group used Mobile Strike Forces in

Vietnam. If one town or area gets “hot,” the Quick Reaction Force for

that area comes in immediately to reinforce whoever is already there

fighting. The Conventional Force is also used for specialized joint

operations where intelligence indicates a major enemy target.

The U.S. Army Special Forces proved their worth in Vietnam and ever

since. They are not on trial, but are still wearing shackles and

handcuffs. If you want to win the war, let our very best warriors lead

the way. They have been the American military’s quietly

professional stuntmen, for decades, but now they need to be the stars

of the show. If you do that, you will not need to train more trainers,

just deploy more Special Forces operators. That is what they are

trained for. And DO NOT micromanage the war from Washington, MacDill

AFB, or Fort Bragg. The commander on the ground must be trusted to

perform his job, who sees what is going on around him and knows what is

best at the time, not a Chairborne Ranger in headquarters miles or

continents away. One of the best ways for him to see what is going on

and control enemy movement in the cities, day and night, sniper teams

need to be deployed on many, many more rooftops, especially with the

“reach out and touch someone” long range .50 cailber Barret sniper

rifle. Snipers in Iraq and Afghanistan have proven their worth.

It is frequently mentioned that Usama bin Laden has become a non-factor

in the Global War on Terrorism. No, I am sorry, he is not. He and

al-Zawahiri are heroes to the jihadists who are totally bent on our

demise. One of the most important psychological aspects to winning a

war is the live action game of ''Capture the Flag.'' The “flag” in this

war has two banners: Usama bin Laden and al-Zawahiri. Both must be

found and taken out--period. They have both sworn not to be taken

alive. So let us happily give them their wish. They do not need to be

in prison cells, waiting for their day in court, so we can prove we are

civil, and they can play the world media. Kill them. That will knock

the wind out of the al-Qaida. Those two are the symbols of hope and

power to the al-Qaida.

It is also incredibly important to “Know thy enemy.” The al-Qaida is

not jealous of America. They hate Christians, and they hate Jews, and

they will NOT sit down at a peace table with us someday or ever. We

must accept that. They have a 7th century mindset to capture and

convert all countries to Islam, called Dar el Islam, and to kill all

Jews and Christians.

They must be killed or conquered--period. And to that end we

absolutely must fight to win the war, not friends. If a sniper shoots

an American from a rooftop, level the building. If insurgents kill

Americans then hide in a mosque, turn the mosque into rubble, and let a

politician apologize later. And in doing this, we must understand an

important principle. YOU CANNOT WIN A WAR WITH SUPPLIES FROM

WAL-MART. This war will never be won by fighting on the cheap. Do

what it takes to win quickly and decisively regardless of the price

tag. The long term is the real drain on our resolve and our cash

reserves.

This includes no more Mr. Nice Guy with Pakistan. U.S. Forces led by

area-knowledgeable Special Forces teams must execute a massive search

and clear operation with extensive use of helicopters, into the

warlord-controlled tribal regions along the Afghani-Pakistani mountain

corridor to find and eliminate al-Zawahiri and Usama bin Laden.

Psychological operations are a major part of the Global War on

Terrorism, and the al-Qaida have learned very effectively how to play

some of the U.S. media like a cheap fiddle. If you are a

decision-maker in a news organization, you must realize that the

courage, sacrifice, and actions of the U.S. military insures your

freedom of the press. The al-Qaida wants to destroy that precious

freedom by using it against you, against us, and they are succeeding in

some quarters. Your first loyalty is not to the news, but to the

country. Without our freedoms, your stories will be dictated to you by

a man with a sword in his hand.

And we have to start publicizing our successes in Iraq and Afghanistan

and stop imbedding reporters with military units. The military’s

primary job is to kill people, blow things up, and break the enemy’s

back. We are there to fight and win, not protect CNN News, because

“the public has a right to know.” The American public wants to know,

but more importantly, they have a right to be protected, first and

foremost.

So many more men and women become general officers now with an eye on

politics after their military careers end. They used to fade away, but

now they run for office. If we want to win, there can be no more

one-upsmanship with the U.S. military. It has gone on for years and

must stop now for the sake of victory.

Additionally, Generals are only told whatever will keep the briefers

from getting in trouble. If you really want to know how to improve

things to win, don’t ask a general; ask his sergeant major.

We can, must, and will win this war in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and

against terrorism. We simply have to learn from our mistakes in the

past, follow the K.I.S.S. principle, and stop trying to win the Ms.

Congeniality Award, and playing to the liberal elitists and naïve

anti-war crusaders.

About the Writer: Don Bendell is the author of 21 books who currently

owns karate schools in Colorado, and his website is at

http://www.donbendell.com . Don receives e-mail at [email protected]">donbendell.com">http://www.donbendell.com . Don receives e-mail at [email protected].

[Guest Clay008]

Re: SP Forces - Please READ!

I am not SP forces or even in the military for that matter but, I wanted to comment on one thing that was said in this article.

I agree with author and do not believe the reporters should be riding around with the military. That is just another opportunity for something to go wrong. I would also assume that the report is in no shape to run through the desert if need be or is educated on how to avoid enemy fire. It just seems like a huge liability to me.