When the defining history of the fight against the Islamic State is written, it will record that U.S. and British special operations forces wreaked havoc upon the enemy.
The major effort began in 2014 in support of U.S. air operations against the ISIS caliphate. It was led by three of the finest units in the global special operations community: the 1st SFOD-Delta, Britain’s 22nd Special Air Service regiment, and the CIA’s paramilitary unit, SOG.
The original focus of these missions involved ground intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. But under the direction of an acclaimed former British SAS commander and then-director of U.K. special forces, Mark Carleton-Smith (now head of the British Army), the SAS embraced its traditional role of deep desert patrolling behind ISIS lines. These efforts complemented other intelligence assets on the ground in identifying ISIS movements in proximity to Syrian allied and Iraqi forces and in illuminating ISIS’ organizational structure.
Yet, as the threat from ISIS became clearer, especially in terms of its interest in attacking Western Europe and in executing Western hostages, the allied special forces mission evolved into a more focused direct action role. President Barack Obama was initially reluctant to deploy special operations forces in fear that they might be captured or killed. But the results of the uptick in operational tempo were clear.
The relentless targeting of ISIS leaders, especially those involved in the group’s foreign direct action wing, damaged the group’s ability to conduct spectacular attacks in the vein of the Paris 2015 assault. Perhaps more importantly, these ground operations threw ISIS off balance, forcing its leaders to move around more regularly rather than sit in position developing their plans. There was also a poetic justice to these actions: Many of the most capable ISIS leaders who ended up being shot in the face were veterans of al Qaeda in Iraq. The 22 SAS and the Delta Force were also instrumental in that effort.
As with Bosnia, history will be kind to the U.S. and British special forces communities here.
