-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
DefenseWatch - Dec. 12, 2001 Soldiers For The Truth (SFTT) Weekly Newsletter When we assumed the Soldier, We did not lay aside the Citizen. General George Washington, to the New York Legislature, 1775 In this week's Issue of DefenseWatch: Three Months After Sept. 11 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- EDITORIAL and ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Ed Offley Editor, DefenseWatch Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] J. David Galland Deputy Editor, DefenseWatch Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] David H. Hackworth Senior Military Columnist Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chris Humphrey SFTT Webmaster Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Editor's Note: The End of the Beginning Hack's Target for the Week: 'Silver Wings Upon Their Chests' Article 01 - We Have Not Yet Reached Victory in Afghanistan, by Gary R. Stalhut Article 02 - A Nuclear-Armed Iraq Must Be the Next Target, by Robert G. Williscroft Article 03 - Can Patriotism Survive Victory in Afghanistan? By Paul Connors Article 04 - U.S. Marine Corps Leading in Transformation, by Patrick Hayes Article 05 - We Must Also Wage War on Inter-Service Rivalries, by Matthew Dodd Article 06 - Rebuilding HUMINT Critical to Counter-Terrorism, by J. David Galland Article 07 - SPECIAL SERIES: Human Intelligence Collection, by J. David Galland Article 08 - FOR THE RECORD: President Bush on Military Transformation Medal of Honor: Article 09 - FUNK, LEONARD A. Jr., SFC USA EDITOR'S NOTE: Your Support is Important! EDITOR'S NOTE: Article Submission Procedures/Subject Editors Sought ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- FROM THE EDITOR: The End of the Beginning ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- By Ed Offley The day after a solemn worldwide commemoration of the lives lost in the al Qaeda terrorist attacks three months ago on Sept. 11, 2001, came a news report from Afghanistan warning that additional "sleeper" cells here in the United States are allegedly preparing a deadly biological warfare attack timing with the end of the Ramadan holy month on Dec. 16. As reported by Bill Gertz in The Washington Times, captured American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh told U.S. intelligence officials that a subsequent third phase - presumably with nuclear weapons - would result in the destruction of the United States. One prays that the misguided young American - currently the only "enemy prisoner of war" in captivity at the Marines' Camp Rhino Base - was relaying groundless terrorist rhetoric that he had picked up during his stint in the Taliban. But if there is one firm lesson from Sept. 11, it is that we cannot afford to allow our security to be defined by assumptions based on hopes. That information apparently led the Bush administration last week to issue the third warning of possible future attacks since Sept. 11. I mention this unconfirmed allegation not to cast any doubts on the progress that the United States and its allies have made in the war against terrorism thus far, but to echo the warnings repeatedly raised by President Bush, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other senior leaders that we are still only in the beginning stages of a long, twilight struggle that may be measured in decades, if not years - and may come with setbacks and temporary defeats as well as stunning victories such as the air-ground campaign that shattered Taliban rule. We at DefenseWatch decided that this was a suitable time to take stock of the war against terrorism, with the goal of providing a measured and balanced perspective of what has been accomplished, and what remains to be done. I am proud of the series of articles we are presenting in this issue and commend all of them to your attention. And I'd like in particular to welcome Gary R. Stalhut to our growing ranks of contributing editors. A career Army Reserve officer who has served 26 years of active and reserve service including combat, Stalhut provides a cogent essay reminding us that even as many observers are shifting their attention from Afghanistan to other potential counter-terrorism targets, our basic strategy for intervening in that country - the capture and/or destruction of al Qaeda - has not yet been accomplished. We look forward to regular contributions of this quality from Gary Stalhut. And we welcome your comments and feedback on these and other issues affecting the men and women of the U.S. armed services serving us at war today. Ed Offley is Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Hack's Target For The Week: 'Silver Wings Upon Their Chests' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- By David H. Hackworth Special Forces and Rangers are the U.S. Army's most elite soldiers. They've proven their worth in past wars and are proving it again as the cutting edge down on the ground - where it really gets mean and nasty - in combat operations in Afghanistan. A lot of factors make today's Green Berets and Rangers extraordinary soldiers, beginning with a tough selection process and even more rigorous qualification training. The all-volunteer troops who manage to make it through are then sent to exclusively male units, where the screws are turned even tighter on their realistic, very rugged training. It's here that they're forged into lethal fighting teams, not only becoming total hands-on experts in their specific skills but also learning the jobs of their teammates as well as they know their own. Since Roger's Rangers in the 1750s, these special units have been leading the way for the conventional Army to follow. And these days, they're all paratroopers. Storied World War II paratroop commander Gen. James Gavin said, "Show me a man who will jump out of an airplane, and I'll show you a man who'll fight." Not only do these highly-motivated sky soldiers belong to elite units with incredible battle records that make them as proud as they are battle-savvy confident, they also have priority of training funds and training areas. Unlike the rest of the Army, which says that it trains as it fights, these elite units do train as they fight and continue to maintain the highest soldierly standards. The five active-duty Special Forces Groups are all assigned specific regions, such as the Middle East, Africa, Latin America or Asia. Each group operates in its assigned area, learns its area of operations, makes local contacts, works with and trains indigenous units and practices its language skills. Frequently, as in Afghanistan, their operations become hot, and often, as in the long war in the Balkans, they work covertly from the shadows. More than often, not even their wives or parents know where the soldiers are or what they're doing. Unlike regular Army units, which constantly play musical chairs and have turnover rates as high as 35 percent per year, these special units stick together for years. This continuity provides critical unit cohesion where everyone knows their team players, the playbook and the plays backward and forward. A lot of young men ask me for advice about joining the Army. I usually tell them to "Go Army Ranger," and that once they get weathered - if they want to be total professionals - to try to qualify for the Green Berets. I make this suggestion because I've watched these soldiers fight around the world and know well the stern and splendid stuff they're made of. Afghanistan is a testing ground for conflicts of the future, where small, elite units - which are agile, hard-hitting and fast-moving - will be the main movers. Special Forces and Rangers out there now are writing the draft chapters that will comprise the textbook for future fights in this long war against terrorism and other potential conflicts. Hopefully, the Army brass will read the tea leaves and transform some of their U.S.-based heavy-tank units - which in modern warfare will soon become as obsolete as the bow and arrow - and form more Special Forces and Ranger units. Let's also hope the brass will take a hard look at why these special units haven't lost their strong warrior spirit and warrior ethic, and how they've kept from lowering their standards to accommodate the PC social experiments of the past decade that have caused most of our armed forces to put "Consideration For Others Training" over preparing to fight. In Afghanistan, the Rangers and Green Berets have already received more than a basic load of Purple Hearts. But strangely they're not getting the normal tax-exempt status for being in a combat zone even though they're right in the middle of the killing fields - and even though the Special Forces soldiers are considered so critical to the war effort that they've been put on a stop-loss, meaning they've been frozen from retiring. I think it's time President George W. Bush made this happen by signing an executive order giving every warrior in and over Afghanistan a tax break, and postdate that sucker to Sept. 11. Don't you? http://www.hackworth.com is the address of David Hackworth's home page. Sign in for the free weekly Defending America column at his Web site. Send mail to P.O. Box 11179, Greenwich, CT 06831. © 2001 David H. Hackworth Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ARTICLE 01 - We Have Not Yet Reached Victory in Afghanistan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- By Gary R. Stahlhut How are we qualifying our victory against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan? There is not doubt that swift collapse of the Taliban Alliance in Afghanistan has exceeded the expectations of the campaign planners of the United States Central Command, the Pentagon, and the CIA. But has this victory truly achieved our objective in Afghanistan? The objective, set forth by President Bush, is to kill or capture the leadership and members of the al Qaeda terrorist organization. While rapidly conquering the Taliban was impressive, we cannot forget that no Afghan was part of the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The defeat of the Taliban is only an intermediate objective; it is only the first of many fights in this war against al Qaeda and terrorism. Now that the Taliban have been decisively routed, the euphoria and celebrations of victory over the Taliban cannot be allowed to dilute the focus of this war; the focus of which is to destroy the Al Qaeda terrorist organization and the global network of Al Qaeda terrorist cells. Only a few weeks ago, news reports were rife with statements reporting how the Taliban were dug in and would fight to the death. Contrary to the media reports, the tenacity of the Taliban fighters proved to be more bravado than reality. Enduring ever-increasing attacks from carrier-based aircraft and B-52s, the Taliban certainly got a wake-up call, but the wrong conclusions are being drawn from the collapse of the Taliban alliance. Wasting no time, the proponents of air power are lauding the air attacks as being the key element in defeating the Taliban Alliance armies. Mark Bowden of The Philadelphia Inquirer recently wrote, "No conventional military force in the world, and no nation, can long withstand our precision bombing campaigns." Bowden added, "The skeptics have been proved wrong, the swift toppling of the Taliban has made the even more clear. American technology has not just triumphed, it has once more redefined warfare." While this conclusion gives Americans a feel-good answer to the swiftness of the Taliban's collapse, it surely does not constitute victory. Defining victory in Afghanistan through the use of "Bunker Busters" and "Daisy Cutters" sounds very sexy on the evening news, but is more like the Pittsburgh Steelers beating a peewee football team. While the Taliban could be loosely defined as a "conventional force," al Qaeda is a terrorist organization and has yet to be defeated. The CIA's brilliant exploitation of internal tribal, clan and ideological schisms of the over twenty Afghan factions did more to defeat the Taliban, than did our aircraft. The nature of war in Afghanistan is akin to the crime organizations of America in the early part of the twentieth century. Each warlord controls his own "turf" and has the loyalty of their clan. Cold, hard cash and a "piece of the action" helps precipitate the switching of allegiances. As the Northern Alliance moved south, the mass defections of Taliban allied warlords and their private armies sealed the fate of the Taliban. Our bombs helped them change their minds, but did not deliver the decisive blow in this war. Victory in Afghanistan must be defined by the accomplishment of the original objective. The objective is not to prove that our technology can beat an agrarian people, nor is the objective the defeat of the Taliban. Victory in Afghanistan is defined by the total defeat of the al Qaeda terrorist organization; the capture or death of Osama bin Laden and his minions, and the continued dismantling of the al Qaeda terrorist network. Gary R. Stalhut is an Army Reserve officer and combat veteran with 26 years of active and reserve duty. He can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! Write to same address to be off lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
