Just Some Thoughts After the Raid on Abbottabad

Its now been about four days since President Obama announced to the nation, and the world, that elements of US Special Operations Command had executed a Raid on a safe house believed to be the hiding place for Osama bin Laden.  In the ensuing 96 hours I haven’t watched too much news since most of it is pure speculation from paid consultants and journalists who really don’t know what they are talking about.

            What I have seen has been at times amusing and at other times pretty disgusting.  We have seen celebration by groups who want to cheer what they believe will be the end of al Qaeda, or who because of their level of maturity think the killing of a human, no matter how worthy that killing is, is something to cheer about.  We have seen the emotional accusations from pro-bin laden supporters that the US somehow violated his rights and eternal soul.  There has been speculation about top-secret organizations by people who should know better.  There has been discussion of this new stealth helicopter and parts being shipped to China.  And finally everyone with access to a microphone has weighted in on whether we should or should not show the post-mortem pictures of the three bodies.

            Should we show the pictures?  Everyone has an opinion but I will say in this matter I agree with the Presidents current position.  We as a nation have shown gruesome pictures when it suited the political need, but in this particular case (at least to my way of thinking) the cons far out weight the pros.  I hope this is one position he remains constant on.

            Additionally we have heard from the former President of Pakistan and several Pakistan government officials about how the US actions have seriously jeopardized our relations.  I fully expect within the next day or two we will hear from the women left behind how US forces terrorized them and the children because they are evil Americans who everyone knows are out to bring terror, death and destruction on the freedom loving Muslims of the world.

            My feelings on those concerns are pretty basic.  I am not sure what we are getting for our $3 billion dollars a year in aid, and perhaps that money would be better spent elsewhere.

            In those 96 hours the seamen who conducted this raid have returned home where they will provide their after-action reports, hug their loved ones and attempt to return to their routine.  The soldiers and airman who supported them will do the same.  America’s special operations forces will learn from what went well and what didn’t and they will prepare for the next challenge.  Hopefully they will slip quietly back into the shadows, because that is what they do.  The shield for USSOCOM holds a spear to represent that US special operations forces are the tip of the spear, the first point to threaten the enemies of the US.

            In these past 96 hours there are liberal commentators who have used this small victory to again complain about our past President and how many lives he cost over his term, and in some cases question why he has not been killed.  In those complaints not one mention of the increasing casualties in Afghanistan, continuing casualties in Iraq and the unmentioned casualties in other theaters of operation.  In the end, these shallow and empty souls know nothing but to look for political advantage or practice their demagoguery.

To the right of this post you will find a quote from Theodore Roosevelt I think captures perfectly my sentiments on all the news we see swirling around this endeavor.  Speaking from my past experiences I am proud of the way this team conducted this operation, and I am glad we will not be enshrining any of them in Arlington because of it.  The motto of the British Special Air Service “Who Dares Wins” sums up this effort.

The Raid

Yesterday afternoon, central time, the US military engaged in an operation called a raid.  The purpose of a raid is not to take and secure territory, it is not to normally intended to engage in a pitched battle, it is to accomplish a specific tactical or strategic purpose.

I don’t know the individuals who were involved but I can tell you the following:

·      The forces chosen for this raid were men trained to a standard far above the average, and they were without exception volunteers

·      The ground force has been identified as SEALS.  SEALS stands for Sea, Air Land.  The SEAL team involved was specifically trained for this type of operation and has been employed for these type of missions since 1981.  They were among the first into Grenada, for Urgent Fury, Rio Haito, during Operation Just Cause, and in Desert Storm they took the hardest missions.  Since 2001 they have been involved in a number of take-downs (a raid intended to capture or kill a terrorist), and at least one of their members has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

·      The helicopter crews are equally well trained and come from the same group known best for its involvement in the Somalia operations made famous in the book and movie “Blackhawk Down.”

·      This mission was planned, rehearsed and executed based on solid intelligence and the men who executed it did everything they could to minimize unnecessary casualties.  They do this for practical reason’s.  They have a mission to accomplish and piling up unnecessary bodies make it harder to determine they’ve accomplished their primary objective.

·      The President made the decision to employ the force, to execute the mission, and what the rules of engagement were with regards to the primary and secondary targets.

·      If he keeps with the precedents he should formally notify Congress of the operation in accordance with the provisions of the War Powers Act, laying out the rational for action, although the public release may constitute that notification.

So now we have killed Osama bin Laden what will happen?  We should be prepared for a desperate attack somewhere, probably in Afghanistan, but not necessarily.

We can also expect the emotional reaction of joy being manifest in the crowds who react emotionally.  We see the fear of retaliation in the crowds that always fear retaliation and we see questioning from the crowds who always question American action.  What will take a while will be to see the reaction from those terrorists who attempt to retaliate.

·      US Forces will increase their force protection levels

·      Homeland security will increase its threat level

·      The FBI will up its investigations

·      The news media will go off half cocked trying to instill fear in the average viewer based on their need to outdo the others.

The thing to keep in mind in the short term is a terrorist network is like a hydra.  It is designed in a cellular manner so if one cell is compromised the rest survive.  We will see how well bin Laden did at building his network, but there will be a second in command ready to step up.  Will he have the  same authority as bin Laden?  Not likely, but he will probably attempt some violent act to prove his right to lead.  If the military hardens it’s facilities they will attack the weakest target.  The best way to counter this is vigilance.

I am told in the press briefings the strike force recovered a significant amount of intelligence material so perhaps we will be lucky enough to reach into al Qaeda and rip it apart, if so we would be most fortunate because it would be contrary to the security steps bin Laden took to protect himself.