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To: LindyBill who wrote (883)	5/11/2003 8:29:37 AM
From: NickSE	Respond to of 793957

The men in the shadows Why Special Forces are providing the model for a new kind of war usnews.com .....The Green Berets live on what they carry in their dumvees, a humvee altered to accommodate extra fuel, water, and weapons. A hole in the roof is a turret for the sergeant who mans a .50-caliber machine gun or MK-19 grenade launcher. In the open truck bed behind, another sergeant mans a mounted M-240 machine gun. The operators like it because of its long range and minimal kick. Their weaponry is rounded out by each man's two personal guns, several AT-4 antitank missiles, and a sniper rifle--either the SPR, the MK-24, or the Cadillac of sniper guns, the 7.62-mm Stoner. The truck bed is piled full of ammunition and rucksacks. Eight-foot trailers hauled behind the dumvee carry the rest of the gear the operators need to live on--a generator, cots, meals ready to eat, water, tools, medical supplies. Here in the southern Iraqi desert, the convoy strikes off the highway into the talcum-powder-fine dirt, churning up clouds that swirl around them and clog eyes and ears. When the dust settles, they face a cluster of bombed-out buildings, a destroyed air-defense site inhabited by malarial mosquitoes and biting flies. Southern Iraq looks like the set of the movie Road Warrior, a moonscape of twisted wreckage after years of bombing and man-made drought. On the horizon, the ancient Temple of Ur, near Abraham's birthplace, is the only vestige of civilization. To their surprise, the Green Berets find that Ahmad Chalabi, the prominent expatriate politician, has taken up residence in the base's one intact structure, laying out a Persian carpet in what would become his salon for receiving local sheiks. Shrugging, a Special Forces major sets about his task of equipping, organizing, and training a group of Iraqi soldiers that would become known as the Free Iraqi Fighting Forces.....

To: LindyBill who wrote (883)	5/11/2003 8:31:40 AM
From: unclewest	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793957

SF has been doing similar activities for a long time. Once upon a time, about 35 years ago, a 6 man Recon team deep in enemy "terror"tory was surrounded and taking heavy fire. The team leader was on the radio directing attacks by supporting helicopter gunships and F4 Phantoms. The team leader's boss flew over in his helicopter to access the situation. Just then a couple of helicopter launched rockets appeared to hit the smoke grenade the team had set off to mark their position to the pilots. He got on the radio and asked the team leader if he was OK. The team leader, a young Green Beret, calmly responded, "We are all fine sir. We got 'em surrounded from the inside. Tell that gunship to keep firing." After inflicting huge casualties on the enemy, the team was successfully extracted.