Prospects for Special Forces Operations in the Middle East
Abstract
This study assesses the prospects for Special Forces operations in the Middle East. It is intended to provide insight into how US Army Special Forces units should be used in the Middle East until the year 2000. The study's research strategy is twofold. First, the study examines the historical use of US, British, and French Special Forces in the region. History indicates that Special Forces units have periodically developed now capabilities and roles in the face of evolving threats. Secondly, this study analyzes instability in the Middle East, with an eye towards identifying future threat developments. Among the destabilizing factors examined are; continued regional conflicts, arms races and weapons programs, evolving nature of terrorism, inherent potential for natural disasters from this analysis, an estimate is made of how future regional developments will impact on Special Forces operations. The study concludes by outlining three scenarios for future employment of Special Forces units; a major regional conflict, a corps contingency force, and operations other than war. Notable trends identified by the study are the emerging importance of coalition warfare support missions, the increasing importance of language proficiency and cross cultural communications, and the increasing lethality of the battlefield. Special operations, Special forces, Middle East.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 04, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA273958
Entities
People
- Matthew P. Mcguiness
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College