SEALs Raid Sign of US Future

Small, special ops teams preferred to large forces
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 26, 2012 4:50 AM CST
SEALs Raid Sign of US Future
In this photograph taken on July 29, 2011 a US military Chinook helicopter lands at Forward Operating Base in Arghandab district southern Afghanistan.   (Getty Images)

Now that a Navy SEAL Team 6 has rescued two hostages being held by Somali pirates and killed Osama bin Laden, you can expect more of these special forces teams in the future, reports the Washington Post. Instead of large-scale military deployments, the Obama administration's preference is now for narrow, tactical uses of force, quick and targeted.

Critics say that special forces tactics are best confined to places in the world with a lightly armed and poorly trained opposition, and do not work as well against modern militaries—and other special operations have not gone so well. But after a decade of combat and counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, officials say US special forces have reached new levels of skill. “I don’t know that there is a nation that could pull this thing off with the speed, precision and stealth that these forces did,” said one defense official. (More Seal Team Six stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X