Pentagon plan seeks increase in special forces -report

[UpInArms]

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-24T060154Z_01_N23328442_RTRIDST_0_ARMS-USA-MILITARY.XML

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - A new Pentagon review of U.S. defense strategy would add thousands of troops skilled in fighting terrorists and insurgents to the ranks of the elite Special Operations Forces, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

Citing U.S. officials and military analysts familiar with the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review, or QDR, the report said the plan would increase the number of Special Operations Forces to the highest level since the Vietnam War.

The strategy also would add billions of dollars to the budget of the U.S. Special Operations Command over the next five years, the report said, citing the officials and analysts who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The newspaper said one of the largest gains would be in Army Special Forces, or Green Berets, who operate in 12-member "A-teams."

The officials and analysts were cited as saying that the Special Forces would expand from 15 to 20 active-duty battalions, creating about 90 more A-teams to deploy to regions considered vulnerable to terrorist or extremists influences, the newspaper reported.

...more...

[shadowknows69]

1. That's the best utilization of our army

that I've heard in a long time. You can't send city leveling, cold war armies to fight extremist groups, and they are out there. You need to infiltrate and xterminate only the bad guy. Its collateral civilian damage that is unnacceptable and ultimately only creates more enemies.

[KeepItReal]

2. Too bad the Pentagon and Bush & Co. didn't use them when they should have

After 9/11 CIA and SF-types had Bin Laden on the run in Tora Bora, Afghanistan.

They asked D.C. for a battalion of Army Rangers to use as a blocking force to prevent a Bin Laden escape into Pakistan, knowing that our Afghan allies weren't up to the job. Rangers were created specifically for that type of mission. I don't think there is one who would not have jumped at a mission to help at catching or killing Bin Laden, as dangerous as it would have been.

U.S. Special Operations Command (under Tommmy Franks) basically ignored the request.

All in Gary Berntsen's (CIA field officer running that part of the war) book Jawbreaker.

[atreides1]

3. Does this include "Domestic" Terrorists

Great idea, but could they also be used for "Domestic" terrorists as well?

You know, groups that march against King George, environmental groups that do not use violence, or perhaps even political groups that oppose our beloved dictator.

This would only be a good idea if they were to be exclusively used over seas, but with this administration this could be the launching of the American version of the SS.

Only time will tell.

[shadowknows69]

6. They already have Negropante's goon squad

They don't need to use regular army to go after insurgents like us.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. WP,pg1: Plan Seeks More Elite Forces to Fortify Military

Plan Seeks More Elite Forces to Fortify Military
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 24, 2006; Page A01


A top-level Pentagon review of defense strategy calls for bolstering the U.S. military with thousands more elite troops skilled in fighting terrorists and insurgents and partnering with foreign forces -- as part of a decades-long plan to expand efforts to thwart terrorists worldwide, according to U.S. officials and military analysts familiar with the review.

The increase would bring the ranks of Special Operations Forces -- which include covert Delta Force operatives, Rangers, Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces -- to their highest levels since the Vietnam War while adding billions to the budget of the 52,000-strong U.S. Special Operations Command, based in Tampa, over the next five years, said the officials and analysts, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the final document has not been released.

One of the largest gains would be in Army Special Forces, or Green Berets, soldiers trained in languages and navigating foreign cultures who work with indigenous forces and operate in 12-man "A-teams." Special Forces would expand by one-third -- from 15 to 20 active-duty battalions -- creating about 90 more A-teams to deploy to regions considered vulnerable to terrorist or extremist influences, the officials and analysts said. Currently, the bulk of Special Forces teams are rotating into Iraq and Afghanistan.

Increasing Special Operations Forces is one of the most significant elements of the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), which sets U.S. defense strategy, guides plans for forces and military hardware and has a major influence on defense spending. The QDR was timed for release along with the fiscal 2007 budget on Feb. 6, according to Pentagon and congressional officials as well as military analysts familiar with it through drafts and briefings....The 2005 QDR -- the first comprehensive look at military strategy and requirements since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- attempts to predict the major security challenges the United States will face in the next 20 years, Ryan Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, said in an address last week.

The latest review sets four major goals: defeating terrorist extremism; defending the homeland; influencing nations such as China that are at a "strategic crossroads" in their world role; and preventing hostile states or actors from acquiring nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, Henry said....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/23/AR2006012301852.html

[Clara T]

5. The funding and the operations can then remain secret

calssified, too sensitive for public scrutiny or Congressional oversight.
This comports with everything that Negroponte and Rummy wish for.

[High Plains]

7. To hell with this.

The US military doesn't need more anything except lay-offs.

[Lance_Boyle]

8. where are they going to find these "elite?"

They have lowered their standards for enlistment to accept into the armed forces those for whom the bottom of the barrel is a significant upward stretch. Are the "elite" the ones who don't skin their knuckles when walking upright?

[Up2Late]

9. No doubt they will have to lower the standards to get 60,000 S.F. troops

And aren't S.F. a LOT more expensive to equip? This is BS.

Here's an update from Reuters:

<http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=10958353&src=rss/domesticNews>

[oneighty]

10. A great recruiting tool

The failure rate of 'wanna be elite rambos' will be great and they will become the common foot soldier who after all is said and done will do the most and be sang about the least.

180

[Clara T]

11. Instruments of statecraft

http://www.statecraft.org/index.html