http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/specialoperations/ en-us Mon, 9 Jul 2007 18:25:03 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863133/posts Excerpt - TAMPA, Florida: A U.S. Navy admiral who won a Silver Star for his role in a famous 1993 battle to rescue downed Black Hawk helicopter crews in Somalia took charge Monday as the new commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command. Adm. Eric T. Olson, 55, is the first Navy officer — and the first Navy SEAL — to run the command, which oversees the military's elite forces fighting terrorism in more than 50 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. ~ snip ~ Associated Press (excerpt) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863133/posts#comment Mon, 9 Jul 2007 18:25:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1789659/posts Excerpt - WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 — The American military quietly waged a campaign from Ethiopia last month to capture or kill top leaders of Al Qaeda in the Horn of Africa, including the use of an airstrip in eastern Ethiopia to mount airstrikes against Islamic militants in neighboring Somalia, according to American officials. The close and largely clandestine relationship with Ethiopia also included significant sharing of intelligence on the Islamic militants’ positions and information from American spy satellites with the Ethiopian military. Members of a secret American Special Operations unit, Task Force 88, were deployed in Ethiopia and Kenya, and... The New York Times (excerpt) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1789659/posts#comment Fri, 23 Feb 2007 06:53:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1651636/posts AMERICA scored one clear success in the War on Terror last week with the killing of Abu Musab al-Zar qawi, the longtime leader of al Qaeda in Iraq - but also a clear failure, with the taking of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, by Islamist militias. The contrast between the two covert operations is telling - for the details teach an abject lesson in the difference between a "learning organization" and one that closes itself to outside influences while insisting that it can perform functions far beyond its core competence. Supremely well-coordinated intelligence is vital to any successful special operation. Zarqawi was... New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1651636/posts#comment Mon, 19 Jun 2006 02:54:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1628041/posts Meet the military's quiet professionals Elite new regiment ready to fly into hot spots on short notice, but Rambos need not apply Chris Wattie National Post April 29, 2006 CFB PETAWAWA, Ont. - Canada's newest special forces unit began training its first soldiers this week, gearing up at a breakneck pace to prepare for a first mission that could come as early as August and send the Canadian Special Operations Regiment to a hot spot anywhere in the world with only a few hours' notice. The National Post was given an exclusive look at the first soldiers of this elite... National Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1628041/posts#comment Sun, 7 May 2006 01:45:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1569128/posts A Bush administration proposal to fold a civilian office tasked with oversight of the Pentagon’s special-operations forces could face stiff resistance in Congress. Sources tell The Hill that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is considering a proposal to eliminate the office of the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict (ASD SO/LIC) and spreading its responsibilities across other Pentagon offices. The proposal comes from Ryan Henry, the principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, according to a source familiar with the plan. It is unclear whether Rumsfeld would sign off on such a suggestion or would reject... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1569128/posts#comment Wed, 1 Feb 2006 03:21:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1513587/posts WASHINGTON -- In a historic step designed to bolster the military's ability to fight a global war on terrorism, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday he approved adding Marines to U.S. Special Operations Command, the organization in charge of SEALs, Green Berets and other commando-style forces. It is the first time since the command was created in April 1987 that the Marine Corps has been included, and Rumsfeld said the change reflects a need for the Pentagon to continue to adapt to the tactics of an adversary like the al-Qaida terror network that uses unconventional means to counter American... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1513587/posts#comment Tue, 1 Nov 2005 22:23:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1461700/posts CHOOSE A NAME FOR THIS LATEST CLINTON SCANDAL-- How about "WALLGATE" or "TREASONGATE"? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1461700/posts#comment Fri, 12 Aug 2005 01:30:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461690/posts "...In April, CNSNews.com staff writer Scott Wheeler reported that a senior U.S. government official and three other sources claimed that the 1995 memo written by Jamie Gorelick, who served as the Clinton Justice Department’s deputy attorney general from 1994 to 1997, created "a roadblock" to the investigation of illegal Chinese donations to the Democratic National Committee. But the picture is much bigger than that. The Gorelick memo, which blocked intelligence agents from sharing information that could have halted the September 11 hijacking plot, was only the mortar in a much larger maze of bureaucratic walls whose creation Gorelick personally oversaw..." Front Page magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461690/posts#comment Fri, 12 Aug 2005 01:14:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461567/posts "...So it's my clear belief that the wall itself developed this culture which restrained in a substantial way the exchange of information in the intelligence and law enforcement communities. The Bellows report, which was part of some recommendations following the Wen Ho Lee case, indicated that it was part of the culture at the FBI that if one made a mistake and shared information that was later deemed to be inappropriate, it was called a career- ender, so that the risk of a person sharing information improperly was at least known in the culture of the law enforcement community to... Pittsburg Post-Gazette http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461567/posts#comment Thu, 11 Aug 2005 21:32:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461559/posts According to The New York Times (8 July 2003): "the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks said today that its work was being hampered by the failure of executive branch agencies, especially the Pentagon and the Justice Department, to respond quickly to requests for documents and testimony." Several alternative media have joined the bandwagon. George W. Bush is accused of obstructing the investigation...Former Jersey governor Thomas Kean, the commission's chairman is presented as an honest and uncompromising individual, who is courageously confronting the US government: "Without greater cooperation, Kean said, ''we cannot do the job we are supposed... Independent Media TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461559/posts#comment Thu, 11 Aug 2005 21:17:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461549/posts "...It was a deeply rewarding experience to work with highly capable colleagues and for such distinguished and thoughtful commissioners. Our commission sessions had long and occasionally heated discussion, but it was always productive and the commissioners themselves were devoted to achieving bipartisanship and unanimity. They understood very well that their impact would be greatest if they were unanimous..." Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs website http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461549/posts#comment Thu, 11 Aug 2005 21:00:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461442/posts The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9-11 Commission), an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation...is chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks... National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States website http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461442/posts#comment Thu, 11 Aug 2005 18:39:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460304/posts ...The former intelligence official said the first Able Danger report identified all four men as members of a "Brooklyn" cell, and was produced within two months after Mr. Atta arrived in the United States. The former intelligence official said he was among a group that briefed Mr. Zelikow and at least three other members of the Sept. 11 commission staff about Able Danger when they visited the Afghanistan-Pakistan region in October 2003... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460304/posts#comment Wed, 10 Aug 2005 05:12:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460271/posts In September 2000, one year before the Al Qaeda attacks of 9/11, a U.S. Army military intelligence program, known as “Able Danger,” identified a terrorist cell based in Brooklyn, NY, one of whose members was 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta, and recommended to their military superiors that the FBI be called in to “take out that cell,” according to Rep. Curt Weldon, a longtime Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who is currently vice chairman of both the House Homeland Security and House Armed Services Committees... Government Security News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460271/posts#comment Wed, 10 Aug 2005 04:10:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460263/posts ...We do know that Able Danger made their report about four of the attackers in 2000. We do know the report was submitted and the request for action was denied. We do know the Gorelick policy ‘wall’ was in effect at the time. We do know Clinton was President and Dick Clark was terrorism guru. We do know 9-11 commission staffers were briefed on these events and 9-11 commissioners were not... The Strata-Sphere http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1460263/posts#comment Wed, 10 Aug 2005 03:43:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1423409/posts June 14, 2005: The U.S. Marine Corps has agreed to turn over a force of 2,500 specially trained marines to SOCOM (Special Operations Command.) Bowing to pressure from the Department of Defense, and SOCOM, the marines are the last of the services to make such a contribution. Created in 1987, SOCOM gained control over army Special Forces (including Civil Affairs, Psychological Warfare and special helicopter units), navy SEALs and air force commandoes and special aviation units. But the marines said they had nothing to offer. The marine SOCOM force will consist of 400 marines trained to provide military instruction for... Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1423409/posts#comment Wed, 15 Jun 2005 17:02:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1409339/posts "PhDs with guns" Linda Robinson's "Masters of Chaos: The Secret History of the Special Forces" Reviewed by W. Thomas Smith Jr. Few Americans had ever heard of Special Forces before the release of the Vietnam-era movie, The Green Berets (1968), starring John Wayne. But by 1982, when First Blood – starring Sylvester Stallone as a former Special Forces soldier on a payback rampage – was released, almost every American schoolboy had at some point fancied himself a member of the U.S. Army's vaunted Green Berets. Countless books and articles have since been written about the Army's Special Forces, but U.S.... MilitaryWeek http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1409339/posts#comment Tue, 24 May 2005 12:48:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1386403/posts WASHINGTON - It was a quarter-century ago this month, April 24, 1980, that the secret American raid into Iran to rescue 53 hostages from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran collapsed in disaster on a make-shift airstrip in the middle of the Iranian desert. The embarrassingly public failure of the raid, code-named Operation Eagle Claw, was a low-water mark for the Carter administration and for our military as well, still struggling to get back on its feet in the wake of the debacle in Vietnam just five years before. Eight American servicemen died when the raid came apart with the fiery... ©2005 Military Advantage http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1386403/posts#comment Tue, 19 Apr 2005 06:15:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1333819/posts Obscure provision cuts reliance on CIA WASHINGTON Congress has given the Pentagon important new authority to fight terrorism by authorizing Special Operations forces for the first time to spend money to pay informers and recruit foreign paramilitary soldiers. The new authority, which would also let Special Operations forces purchase equipment or other items from the foreigners, is spelled out in a single paragraph of an 800-page defense authorization bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush in October. It was requested by the Pentagon and the commander of Special Operations forces as part of a... The International Herald Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1333819/posts#comment Tue, 1 Feb 2005 23:29:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1323742/posts Dear Mr.Hersh, I read with great interest your article titled  The Coming Wars: What the Pentagon can now do in secret carried by the New Yorker in its issue dated January 24, 2005, about US preparations for a possible covert operation against Iran's suspected military nuclear installations set up with Pakistani complicity. I particularly noted your findings about the role of the Pakistani intelligence in the preparations being made by the US. . . .[ . . . ]Mr.Hersh, Musharraf's clandestine co-operation with the USA against Iran started in February, 2002. In return, the USA did not act against him... OutlookIndia.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1323742/posts#comment Wed, 19 Jan 2005 12:35:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1306771/posts ...Even during ongoing military campaigns, Mr. Rumsfeld never wavered from his transformational objectives.... Mr. Rumsfeld, with the brilliant leadership of General Schoomaker, was able to move personnel from noncombat to combat units, enabling them with additional reorganization to create 15 newly restructured combat brigades. Also, because of Mr. Rumsfeld's successful plan, our military is more flexible, more agile and better able to fight unconventional enemies. A new civilian personnel system was designed to reward merit, reduce force stress and replace a bureaucratic culture of risk aversion with one of innovation. Moreover, he was able to move military personnel out of... BaltimoreSun.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1306771/posts#comment Wed, 22 Dec 2004 19:47:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/734316/posts The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/734316/posts#comment Fri, 16 Aug 2002 14:39:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1264700/posts ...We strategized Tora Bora in essentially the same way [as] the Afghanistan war: by using a combination of our elite Special Forces and CIA Agents, embedded with native Afghan troops. We chose this approach in waging the Afghan war for many reasons: it minimized the number of U.S. troops put in harm's way; it drew on the strengths of the native Afghans who had been fighting in that terrain for years and who were adept at traversing the mountainous terrain on horseback; and it helped avoid the same mistake the Soviets made in Afghanistan. They had opted for a large... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1264700/posts#comment Mon, 1 Nov 2004 13:45:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1145978/posts RELEASE NUMBER: 040601-02 DATE POSTED: JUNE 1, 2004 Army, special ops troops star in NASCAR Memorial Day salute By Walt Sokalski U.S. Army Special Operations Command CONCORD, N.C. (USASOC News Service, June 1, 2004) - The crowd came to its feet as they banked around Turn 3, moving toward the finish line at Lowe's Motor Speedway here on May 30. Six hours later, the crowd would do the same for Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 car at the end of the race. That first standing ovation, however, was for the MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters delivering a Special Forces A-team... U.S. Army Special Operations Command http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1145978/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jun 2004 05:10:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/1123612/posts Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/1123612/posts#comment Sat, 24 Apr 2004 07:00:03 GMT