The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos, and the Future of Us Warfare by James F. Dunnigan
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Dirty Little Secrets
Saving Commandos For The Final Act
by James Dunnigan
March 26, 2003
The coalition plan for ending the war appears to be one of decapitation. In other words, get inside Baghdad, get Saddam and Saddam's supporters will collapse. This is a reasonable plan, because Saddam has built a one man dictatorship. No "central committee" here. Saddam's designated successors are his two sons, neither of whom have their fathers talents for survival. American generals have, in the past week, hinted at "lots of surprises" and getting troops to the outskirts of Baghdad is not one of them. Operations in the city are another thing. Kept carefully out of the media has been many of the operations of over a thousand Special Forces and commandos known to be in the area. The only commando operation to, so far, get any attention was a raid on some Iraqi offshore oil facilities and the seizure of airfields in western Iraq. U.S. Navy SEALs and Polish commandos were involved off shore, and unidentified "special operations troops" out in the desert.
But where are the rest of these super soldiers? Some have been rumored to be moving about inside Baghdad. Some may be in northern Iraq. Most likely, many of the commandos are doing what they are trained to do. That means long range scouting, preferably deep in enemy territory. Like Baghdad. And what would they be looking for in the city? Saddam's many hiding places and how Saddam and his key aides are moving about.
When coalition divisions move on Baghdad, the best use of commandos would be for them to attack inside the city while the combat divisions attack from the suburbs. This is classic commando work. In conjunction with the U.S. Army's Airborne Rangers, a brigade of paratroopers and the 101st Airmobile division, a rapid and powerful attack could be made on many areas in Baghdad simultaneously. This is real "shock and awe." It might even work.
But these operations are risky and don't always succeed. But if commandos are to be used in a big way, Saddam is the kind of "high value" target that you would aim for.
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