Pentagon’s Special Forces Need to Go Back to the Future
Green Berets and Navy SEALs have fought terrorists for two decades. The new mission against China and Russia requires Cold War skills.
By Hal Brands
May 24, 2021, 9:00 AM EDT
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan this summer will bring an end to a supposedly “endless war.” It will also mark the close of a golden age for America’s special operations forces.
The global war on terrorism put the special operations forces, or SOF in military jargon, at the forefront of American strategy for a generation. It was a period in which SOF – these include not just the Army’s Special Forces (or Green Berets) but also Navy SEALs, Marine Raiders and others — made outsized contributions, reaped outsized rewards and suffered outsized losses.
Today, however, the U.S. is shifting its focus from counterterrorism to long-term competitions against China and Russia. To remain relevant in dealing with the threats of a new era, America’s special operators will need, somewhat ironically, to pivot back to their pasts.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-24/pentagon-s-special-forces-need-to-take-on-china-and-russia
