Special Operations Forces During the Dhofar Insurgency and in Afghanistan: A Comparative Study for German Special Operations Forces

Abstract

German SOF have been operating in Afghanistan since the beginning of 2002. A controversial discussion about the transparency and control of German SOF was triggered by the events on 4 September 2009 when a NATO air strike at Kunduz, in response to a request by German forces, killed scores of Afghan civilians. Although the air strike was not the specific consequence of German SOF involvement, the strike dominated political debates in Germany for several months and in November 2009 led to the resignation of German labor minister Franz Josef Jung, who was defense minister during the attack. During the debates that followed, the German SOF role in Afghanistan was questioned with the above in mind, the British SOF experience in Oman during the 1970s can serve as a useful model for the future of German SOF in Afghanistan.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 28, 2011
Accession Number
ADA600760

Entities

People

  • Karsten Kraemer

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan Conflict
  • Air Strikes
  • Counterinsurgency
  • Governments
  • Health Services
  • Information Operations
  • Insurgency
  • Military Assistance
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Nato
  • Psychological Operations
  • Special Operations Forces
  • Terrorists
  • Unconventional Warfare
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.