Special Forces Successful Tactics

The U.S. Army Special Forces tactics have proved successful, and are now becoming even more popular in the war on terror. These techniques involve going in and making friends with as many people as possible, and then waiting for those people to reciprocate with information, or even actively joining your efforts to track down terrorists.

The army Civil Affairs battalions actually belong to the Special Forces, and specialize in working long term with locals to improve living and economic conditions. Something as simple as having a veterinarian tend to local herds, flying in equipment to drill wells, or passing out battery powered radios builds long term good will. The Special Forces know what goods and services will be most useful, and appreciated by the locals. Once the good will is established, the Special Forces then have an invaluable intelligence tool; the ability to go to villagers and just sit and talk…and ask questions that will be answered.

The first thing to do is make an assessment, and this is why Special Forces training includes learning the languages of the area they will specialize in. The five active duty Special Forces groups (brigades) each specialize in a different region of the world. Going around to villages or neighborhoods to make introductions goes over well. The Special Forces are exotic visitors who speak the language, know the customs and are very respectful. Two men in each twelve man Special Forces team are medical specialists, a huge asset to get “in the door”. Since they know the culture, the Special Forces operators know when it is polite to offer something, how to do it, and when to keep quiet. The people in these poor countries know of America as a rich, generous country, so it’s not difficult for the Special Forces to offer assistance. The Special Forces will usually say why they are there, to catch terrorists who threaten the United States. For that reason, the Special Forces will encourage friendships with locals who are not Islamic radicals; establishing relations, and maintaining them.

The Special Forces training also makes it easier for the operators to detect when they aren’t making progress. To detect when they are being lied to or patronized. This is important, because the Special Forces and Civil Affairs troops might be working an area for months, or years, before the locals decide that the foreigners are trustworthy, and spoken to freely and frankly.

The war on terror is being fought, and won, with thousands of good deeds. These are tools that are utilized before the bombs and bullets become necessary to eliminate the dangerous leaders of the enemy imperialists… as was the case recently when Special Forces achieved an important success by taking out the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

For more information on Special Forces Tactics, see the many publications at QuikManeuvers.com