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Elite units may face a difficult task
If U.S. goes after bin Laden, it has an arsenal of special forces and abundant obstacles
By ED TIMMS He's an elusive enemy and a moving target.
Osama bin Laden has no standing army. He seldom stays in one spot for long.
Trying to track his movements often has frustrated and bewildered the nation's
intelligence experts. Using conventional military forces to flush him out of Afghanistan, a
mountainous land with a history of successfully repelling invaders, could prove
costly. From the late 1970s to the late 1980s, it was the Soviet Union's
"Vietnam." Great Britain didn't fare much better back when it still had an
empire. Those realities suggest that if the United States' military response goes
beyond air strikes and cruise-missile launches, Special Operations Forces
probably will be the first on the ground. The U.S. military's elite units are trained and equipped to operate deep
behind enemy lines. They can execute high-risk assaults on targets or carry out
"extractions" – the capture of a military leader. If Mr. bin Laden – labeled the "prime suspect" in the terror attacks –
becomes the target of a bomb attack or cruise missile, a special operations unit
may surreptitiously help locate him. Or, if a large military force is required
to bring the rogue Saudi expatriate to justice, they may go in first to scope
out landing zones and staging areas. Special operations forces "can conduct stand-alone operations in situations
where a small, discreet force provides the nation's leaders with options that
fall somewhere between diplomatic efforts and the use of high-profile
conventional forces," a recent Defense Department posture statement says. "...
Against a growing security challenge, SOF also offer a wide variety of skills to
combat terrorism." Retired Army Col. Daniel Smith, with the Center for Defense Information in
Washington, warned that there also are potential problems if such units are used
against Mr. bin Laden in Afghanistan, where he is believed to be living under
the protection of the fundamentalist Taliban regime. The dangers
The units, he said, would be placed in a hostile country, far from friendly
territory. Taliban militia also may still be armed with U.S. Stinger
anti-aircraft missiles that were provided to Mujahadeen guerrillas
when they were opposing Soviet forces. And a "mobile target" such
as Mr. bin Laden, he said, is extremely difficult to locate. "One of the dangers is that with all of the talk of war and striking
early and striking hard ... we might rush into something before
we're really ready," he said. What's in the mix militarily is, for now, the subject of speculation
– perhaps undecided by the Bush administration and military leaders,
and certainly not likely to be divulged before any action is under
way. But as the nation's war against terrorism heats up, military
experts say that a variety of special operations units may prove
useful and perhaps even more effective than a massive intervention
with conventional forces. The Army's secretive Delta Force might strike, or Army's Special
Forces – the Green Berets – could deploy teams in Afghanistan for
direct action and reconnaissance. Green Berets also might help organize and train Afghani opponents
of the Taliban regime. Green Berets are trained to teach others
how to fight and also receive extensive training in languages and
local cultures. "That's one of the prime missions of Special Forces, to go and
train people in unconventional warfare," said Don Fender, a retired
command sergeant major and Vietnam veteran who was in Special Forces
for more than seven years. Aiding his foes
Stirring up opposition to the Taliban and Mr. bin Laden could bring
about some results even if the terrorist leader manages to evade
capture for a time. "We can keep this guy on the run," Mr. Fender said. "He can't plan
a lot of stuff if he's running." If necessary, Army Ranger battalions, which can deploy rapidly
anywhere in the world, might be used to capture an airfield so that
an even larger conventional military force could be flown into Afghanistan.
Or they might attack an armed concentration of bin Laden supporters
The Army can draw upon the expertise of the "Night Stalkers," the
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Flying specially equipped
helicopters, the Night Stalkers might be used to ferry ground units
deep into enemy territory, or to attack a terrorist compound. The Air Force special operations forces also fly highly specialized
helicopters and other aircraft that can bring in clandestine ground
units. The Air Force's inventory includes the AC-130 Spectre gunship,
which can saturate an area with fire from a 105mm howitzer, 40mm
cannon and a 25mm Gatling gun. Naval special warfare forces include Sea, Air, Land (SEAL) Teams.
SEALS typically focus on commando assaults and reconnaissance relatively
close to water, whether it's a river or an ocean. Given that Afghanistan
is land-locked, their use may be limited there. But if Mr. bin Laden's
lieutenants are located in other countries, SEALs could become more
likely to be involved. Other U.S. military units with specialized
training also could have a role, including airborne divisions that
can be deployed behind enemy lines, Marine reconnaissance units
and snipers, and the Army's Long Range Surveillance Units. Much to work out
Military experts say that before special operations units can be
unleashed, or any other military action taken, some issues must
be worked out. "First of all, you've got to find out who did this for sure, and
then you've got to find the whole network," said retired Army Gen.
John Foss, a former commander of the Army's Training and Doctrine
Command and the 18th Airborne Corps. "There's a network that goes
out, probably, to many different countries." Mr. Foss said that isolating Mr. bin Laden politically and financially,
to limit his mobility, might be advised before special operations
are contemplated. Intelligence crucial
Even then, he said, "You have to have very good intelligence before
you can start an operation with a lot of people on the ground."
And enemies such as Mr. bin laden and Saddam Hussein have proven
to be hard to find. When cruise missiles were launched into Afghanistan in response
to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Mr. bin Laden was
unscathed. "We knocked down a bunch of tents ...and I'm not sure what other
damage we did," Mr. Foss said.
The Dallas Morning News