Apr 9, 2017
1st SFOD-D/CAG RECCE troop operators during Operation Anaconda
(Source: SOFREP)
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1st SFOD-D/CAG RECCE troop operators during Operation Anaconda
(Source: SOFREP)
I think an important facet to understand about the modern, post-9/11 military industrial complex is the rise of special operations as the primary mode of combat in the US military (across all service branches), and the related integration of special operations units with the intelligence services. The CIA is not separate from JSOC. JSOC exists to carry out special ops with CIA support with less oversight and fewer restrictions on use of lethal force.
Critics charged that after 9/11, “the Bush administration was shifting ever more covert activity from the CIA to the military in a deliberate strategy to exploit the ‘traditional military activities’ loophole and evade congressional oversight” (Kibbe, Conducting Shadow Wars, p381). This was demonstrated by Rumsfeld’s determination “to make sure that special operations forces could obtain the authority for both deployment and the use of lethal force in minutes and hours, not days and weeks” (Smith, Killer Elite, p235). In addition, the DoD assumed the position that the United States was in active war against terrorism, and therefore concluded that any military activity “meets the ‘traditional military activities’ exception to the covert action definition—meaning that any actions taken in pursuit of it need not be justified by a presidential finding and Congress need not be informed about them” (Kibbe, The Rise of Shadow Warriors).
The NYT article about SEAL Team 6 a few weeks ago sparked yet another media frenzy on the military’s accountability and their involvement in
At least 44 Fort Bragg soldiers died stateside in 2020 — several of them were homicides. Families want answers. But the Army isn’t giving an
Behind the heroic narratives of SEAL Team 6 is a darker, more troubling story of criminal brutality and war crimes.
Abolish JSOC
They could be found on the outskirts of Sirte, Libya, supporting local militia fighters, and in Mukalla, Yemen, backing troops from the United Arab mirates. At Saakow, a remote outpost in southern Somalia, they assisted local commandos in killing several members of the terror group al-Shabab.
“US Military Forces Deployed in 70 Percent of Worlds Nations”
In 2015 Special Operations Forces (SOF) were deployed in 147 of the world’s 195 nations, an increase of 80% since 2010. Commander General Joseph Votel told Aspen Security Forum July 2015, that more SOF troops were being deployed to more locations and operating more than at the height of the Afghan and Iraq wars. Since 2001 when budgets totaled $3 billion, the SOF budget has more than tripled, having risen to nearly $10 billion. Nick Turse reported for Tomdispatch, “America’s most elite troops are carrying out missions in 80 to 90 nations” (Censored 2017). In 2014, Special Operations Forces organized 75 training operations in 30 countries, a figure projected to increase to 98 exercises by the end of 2015. Corporate media has not covered the expansion around the world, and have not raised important questions about what these mission’s results are and if they are meaningful. The global presence of US military personnel is treated as the “unspoken background for more dramatic reports of specific military operations or policy decisions” (Censored 2017).
In 2016 the United States deployed special operators to China in addition to eleven countries surrounding it. Special Operations Command does not acknowledge sending commandos into Iran, North Korea, or Russia, but it does deploy troops to many nations that ring them. SOCOM was only willing to name only 129 of the 138 countries its forces deployed to in 2016. “Almost all Special Operations Forces deployments are classified,” said spokesman Ken McGraw “If a deployment to a specific country has not been declassified, we do not release information about the deployment.” According to SOC, 55.29% of special operations deployed overseas in 2016 were sent to the Middle East, which was a drop of 35% from 2006. On any given day, around 8,000 of SOC commandos can be found in more than 90 countries worldwide.
Source: The Nation is a US news outlet that was founded in 1865, making it one of America’s oldest weekly magazines. Their focus is on investigative reporting and debate about issues important to the progression of the community. The Nation is known as well written journalism, but often favors the left wing bias.
Botched ransom? Rep presses for answers on FBI role in 'payment' for Bergdahl
Botched ransom? Rep presses for answers on FBI role in ‘payment’ for Bergdahl
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl charged with desertion
December 14, 2015
The FBI played a central role in making a botched “payment” meant to help secure Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s release last year, according to the office of a House Republican now seeking answers on why the bureau was involved at all in the apparent rescue attempt.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. — who has long questioned whether a ransom of…
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