U.S. special forces to stay in Iraq, Afghanistan
As conventional troops slowly withdraw, the special ops will 'hunt and kill' militants and conduct training, Gates says.
By Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
7:52 PM PDT, May 21, 2008
TAMPA, FLA. -- Outlining a more detailed version of America's endgame in Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Wednesday that as conventional forces slowly withdraw, U.S. special operations units will continue to "hunt and kill" militants and help train Iraqis.
The special operations forces play a central role in Iraq and Afghanistan and are the "connective tissue" between the different military missions, Gates said...
...Top U.S. special operations commanders have said in recent months that they expect to remain in vigorous numbers in Iraq as other U.S. forces decline.
Army Maj. Gen. John Mulholland, who overseas special operations in the Middle East, said it would fall to American special operations forces to provide support to Iraqi units. In addition to advice, he said, the special forces will help provide medical evacuation, communication, intelligence and other support to the Iraqi military.
"We are a natural force to continue to stay in place to train, advise, assist, mentor our counterpart force as conventional forces draw down," Mulholland said.
In years to come, Gates said, involvement of conventional U.S. forces in military conflicts "will, in all likelihood, be on a much, much smaller scale -- with special operations forces as the main component."
latimes.com |
