http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/72287.htm
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
By RALPH PETERS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 31, 2003 -- HAVE faith in the American soldier. Have particular faith in our special operations forces, the shadow warriors who are the most effective fighting men in history.
Over the weekend, special ops troops leading Kurdish freedom fighters overran a vast terrorist base near Iraq's border with Iran.
Perhaps a thousand members of Ansar al-Islam, a group with direct ties to both al Qaeda and Saddam's regime, had pledged to resist to the death. They ran like rabbits and died like sheep.
The surviving terrorists are now in detention in Iran. And their huge complex of caves and defensive positions is already yielding critical intelligence.
This victory in both the war against Saddam and the War on Terror was one of the rare times when our special operations forces stepped out into the light of day.
The Pentagon also showed a tape of Army Rangers raiding an Iraqi headquarters by night. Other reports tell of special operators tracking down a meeting place for over 200 leaders of Saddam's death squads in Basra. Allied aircraft wiped the building from the face of the earth.
Army Special Forces are active in An Najaf, rooting out the die-hards who have been tormenting the civilian population. Other special operators were in Iraq well before the start of the war, providing intelligence and locating Iraqi missile launchers.
We even have special operations forces operating in Baghdad, hunting for targets and killing Iraq's bloodstained leaders, one after another.
This is all mighty impressive. But it's only a fraction of what the Army's Special Forces, Rangers and Delta Force, the Navy's SEALs, and special operations elements from the Air Force and Marines are doing in this war - along with Brit, Aussie and other allied comrades.
These men work best in the darkness, both figurative and literal. So they rarely get credit for their phenomenal skills and courageous accomplishments.
Far more is happening behind Iraqi lines than we ever will know. Our special operators have extraordinary capabilities that must be kept secret to remain effective. But I can assure you that some of the most effective actions taken against Saddam's regime are happening far from any TV cameras.
I was fortunate during my Army career and afterward to know many special operators, from brilliant generals down to sergeants so tough they make steel feel like a down comforter. I was never less than deeply impressed by their skills, professionalism - and intellect.
And that leads me to a general misunderstanding. Hollywood portrayals of special ops troops tend to portray them as wild men, hot dogs whose calling is to perform amazing stunts. Well, these guys are certainly amazing, but show-offs and braggarts don't make the cut.
Special ops troops are rigorously self-disciplined. Every man in a team must be able to depend completely on every other man. No drunks, no punks. These are men who must be ready to walk through fire, if the mission requires it.
Physically tough, you bet. But their psychological toughness is even more important, given the enormous stresses under which they operate. And many of them speak multiple languages, have advanced degrees and possess such deep experience of the world that they are among the most intellectually sophisticated men I've ever known.
As for courage, well, it's required of many soldiers, often at unexpected times. But special operators know the risks they take going into a mission. And it's much easier to perform reliably when surrounded by hundreds of your buddies and backed up by armor and airpower, than when you are hundreds of miles from help, with the enemy all around you.
Our special operations troops aren't superhuman. But they're close.
Try to imagine the sort of courage it takes to serve in a hunter-killer team in downtown Baghdad. Or a Delta Force element on a direct-action mission deep in Iraq. Or an Air Force special ops pilot flying a helicopter in total darkness, skimming the sand, with only his skills and a pair of night-vision goggles to prevent a catastrophic crash that would kill the Special Forces A-team he's inserting.
These men are a breed apart. It is no slight to the magnificent performance of all our men and women in uniform to recognize the fearsome risks our special operations soldiers volunteer to undertake, or the extraordinary skills and dedication they bring to their missions.
Each one of these men is a national treasure, each one of them a strategic asset. As you read these lines, they are operating behind Saddam's lines, haunting him and hunting him. You may never see their faces. But you are going to see their results.
Ralph Peters is a retired military officer who wasn't remotely tough enough or smart enough to qualify for a special operations unit. And he doesn't mind admitting it.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
By RALPH PETERS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 31, 2003 -- HAVE faith in the American soldier. Have particular faith in our special operations forces, the shadow warriors who are the most effective fighting men in history.
Over the weekend, special ops troops leading Kurdish freedom fighters overran a vast terrorist base near Iraq's border with Iran.
Perhaps a thousand members of Ansar al-Islam, a group with direct ties to both al Qaeda and Saddam's regime, had pledged to resist to the death. They ran like rabbits and died like sheep.
The surviving terrorists are now in detention in Iran. And their huge complex of caves and defensive positions is already yielding critical intelligence.
This victory in both the war against Saddam and the War on Terror was one of the rare times when our special operations forces stepped out into the light of day.
The Pentagon also showed a tape of Army Rangers raiding an Iraqi headquarters by night. Other reports tell of special operators tracking down a meeting place for over 200 leaders of Saddam's death squads in Basra. Allied aircraft wiped the building from the face of the earth.
Army Special Forces are active in An Najaf, rooting out the die-hards who have been tormenting the civilian population. Other special operators were in Iraq well before the start of the war, providing intelligence and locating Iraqi missile launchers.
We even have special operations forces operating in Baghdad, hunting for targets and killing Iraq's bloodstained leaders, one after another.
This is all mighty impressive. But it's only a fraction of what the Army's Special Forces, Rangers and Delta Force, the Navy's SEALs, and special operations elements from the Air Force and Marines are doing in this war - along with Brit, Aussie and other allied comrades.
These men work best in the darkness, both figurative and literal. So they rarely get credit for their phenomenal skills and courageous accomplishments.
Far more is happening behind Iraqi lines than we ever will know. Our special operators have extraordinary capabilities that must be kept secret to remain effective. But I can assure you that some of the most effective actions taken against Saddam's regime are happening far from any TV cameras.
I was fortunate during my Army career and afterward to know many special operators, from brilliant generals down to sergeants so tough they make steel feel like a down comforter. I was never less than deeply impressed by their skills, professionalism - and intellect.
And that leads me to a general misunderstanding. Hollywood portrayals of special ops troops tend to portray them as wild men, hot dogs whose calling is to perform amazing stunts. Well, these guys are certainly amazing, but show-offs and braggarts don't make the cut.
Special ops troops are rigorously self-disciplined. Every man in a team must be able to depend completely on every other man. No drunks, no punks. These are men who must be ready to walk through fire, if the mission requires it.
Physically tough, you bet. But their psychological toughness is even more important, given the enormous stresses under which they operate. And many of them speak multiple languages, have advanced degrees and possess such deep experience of the world that they are among the most intellectually sophisticated men I've ever known.
As for courage, well, it's required of many soldiers, often at unexpected times. But special operators know the risks they take going into a mission. And it's much easier to perform reliably when surrounded by hundreds of your buddies and backed up by armor and airpower, than when you are hundreds of miles from help, with the enemy all around you.
Our special operations troops aren't superhuman. But they're close.
Try to imagine the sort of courage it takes to serve in a hunter-killer team in downtown Baghdad. Or a Delta Force element on a direct-action mission deep in Iraq. Or an Air Force special ops pilot flying a helicopter in total darkness, skimming the sand, with only his skills and a pair of night-vision goggles to prevent a catastrophic crash that would kill the Special Forces A-team he's inserting.
These men are a breed apart. It is no slight to the magnificent performance of all our men and women in uniform to recognize the fearsome risks our special operations soldiers volunteer to undertake, or the extraordinary skills and dedication they bring to their missions.
Each one of these men is a national treasure, each one of them a strategic asset. As you read these lines, they are operating behind Saddam's lines, haunting him and hunting him. You may never see their faces. But you are going to see their results.
Ralph Peters is a retired military officer who wasn't remotely tough enough or smart enough to qualify for a special operations unit. And he doesn't mind admitting it.
