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British forces truly special, but up to Afghan challenge?
11/03/2001
LONDON – In the dark days after the Sept. 11 attacks on the Pentagon and the
World Trade Center, many Britons looking for a quick solution to the emergency
turned to the crack troops of the Special Air Service as potential saviors.
The idea that a handful of specially trained SAS soldiers could go behind
enemy lines in Afghanistan and capture Osama bin Laden was fed by the British
press, which published elaborate graphics illustrating how the SAS would be able
to track and apprehend the man suspected of being behind the terrorist attacks.
The optimism was based on the formidable reputation of the SAS, viewed by
many Britons as the toughest and most capable soldiers in the world. But reality
is sinking in as British military experts caution the public that even those
elite troops will face enormous difficulties operating in hostile territory in
Afghanistan. These warnings have come not only from former military men but from former
SAS soldiers with extensive experience inside Afghanistan who say that British
special forces will not be able to work miracles unless they have excellent,
trustworthy guides inside Taliban-controlled parts of the country. Charles Heyman, a retired major who is military editor of Jane's World
Armies, said the public does not understand the limited effect SAS troops
can have, especially since the actual number of SAS troops – a figure kept
secret by the government – is smaller than generally believed. "People have seen too many Hollywood movies where the good guys don't fall
down, but the reality is the bad guys are just as well trained as the good guys,
and sometimes it's the good guys who fall down," he said. "The brutal truth is
that there aren't enough special forces to do the job on their own. If you use
them too much, at the end of three or four months there'll be none left." He said it would be disastrous for Britain to lose a large number of SAS
troops because it would take years to train new squadrons. As a result, great
care is taken in their deployment. In addition to the covert use of SAS troops, British officials announced
Sept. 26 that 200 marine commandos will be deployed, with 400 more on standby.
The marines will be backed by a British armada of warships, submarines, an
aircraft carrier, and other advanced ships. Once SAS forces are in action, Mr. Heyman said, they are able to stay in the
field far longer than the average soldier and to carry out high-risk operations
that normal soldiers would find impossible. Rugged training
The SAS, formed in 1941 for desert warfare in North Africa, operates with
four- and five-man teams that are not strictly divided by rank. Much military
protocol is scrapped, and initiative, not obedience, is rewarded. It is believed
there are only between 500 and 1,000 active SAS soldiers, with a number of
support personnel. Only successful soldiers with three years or more experience are considered
for the SAS, and about 85 percent of those who apply are not allowed to enter
the training program. Military sources say roughly two of every three accepted
for training complete it. One of the tests involves being able to traverse a high mountain pass in
rough weather carrying a 60-pound pack within a specified time. SAS observers
tell about one gritty candidate who broke his ankle climbing, still managed to
find his way, but arrived two minutes late and was rejected. The government refuses to comment on SAS operations, but government spokesmen
have dropped hints that SAS soldiers are already deployed in rebel-held zones of
northern Afghanistan. It is not known if SAS troops are also active in Taliban areas. Retired Adm. Richard Cobbold, director of the Royal United Services Institute
in London, said that if SAS troops are already in northern Afghanistan, their
primary role now would be providing intelligence and designating targets for the
air campaign. He said all SAS soldiers are trained in the use of "laser designators" that
can mark targets so a laser signal can be picked up by incoming weapons and
guide the weapons directly to that target. "It ensures that the precision weapon is going to hit the right target," he
said. He said the most visible role of the SAS came in 1980 when SAS troops managed
to end the takeover of the Iranian Embassy in London with a minimal loss of
life. But the mission that most closely resembles the one in Afghanistan, he
said, came when SAS troops were sent to Oman in the 1970s to work undercover to
help the Sultan of Oman fend off internal and external threats to his rule. The SAS also played an important role in the Falklands War in 1982 and worked
in conjunction with U.S. special forces during the Gulf War to try to locate
Iraqi Scud missiles before they could be launched at Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Usefulness debated
Dr. John Gearson, a military specialist at with the Department of Defense
Studies at King's College in London, said the U.S. and British special forces
operation in the Gulf War paid few dividends. "The U.S. deployed a lot of special forces, and the U.K. deployed the largest
percentage ever of its SAS troops, and they didn't find many Scuds," he said.
"There is a continuing debate about the usefulness of special forces. But in
this conflict, the likelihood is that special forces offer one of the best ways
to track down terrorist networks." Dr. Gearson said the most likely way this would happen is that small SAS
teams could be used to locate terrorist hideouts, then call for help from large
numbers of elite troops on standby. "Given that the terrorist formations may be quite large, the special forces
will need a lot of backup," he said. He said he does not believe that SAS troops are already in Taliban areas
because of the extremely high risk that they would be captured and possibly
executed because they do not have enough local support to shield them. "It's too easy to be uncovered with local intelligence against you," he said.
"You can't operate that way. But if you're sheltered by friendly elements, you
can do much more." Perhaps the most dire warnings about the limits facing SAS troops come from
Tom Carew, a former SAS fighter who helped train the Afghan fighters who
overcame Soviet troops in the 1980s. He said the idea that small SAS teams can operate clandestinely in
Afghanistan is ridiculous because their men would "stick out like a sore thumb"
if they tried to blend in with locals. He also said that the Afghans he fought
with have exceptional endurance in high altitudes and a thorough knowledge of
how to use the harsh environment to their advantage. "As fighting terrain, it's an absolute nightmare," Mr. Carew said, adding
that even rigorously trained SAS soldiers could not keep up with the Afghan
soldiers. "This is how they have fought and won wars for 200 years," Mr. Carew said.