Return-Path: <sentto-279987-2919-1003012292-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.1.0) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Sat, 13 Oct 2001 15:32:08 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 14000 invoked by uid 510); 13 Oct 2001 22:31:19 -0000 Received: from n2.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.52) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 13 Oct 2001 22:31:19 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-2919-1003012292-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.1.224] by n2.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 13 Oct 2001 22:31:33 -0000 X-Sender: fc@big.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-7_4_1); 13 Oct 2001 22:31:32 -0000 Received: (qmail 9103 invoked from network); 13 Oct 2001 22:31:32 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.142) by 10.1.1.224 with QMQP; 13 Oct 2001 22:31:32 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO big.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta3 with SMTP; 13 Oct 2001 22:31:32 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by big.all.net (8.9.3/8.7.3) id PAA08206 for iwar@onelist.com; Sat, 13 Oct 2001 15:31:31 -0700 Message-Id: <200110132231.PAA08206@big.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2001 15:31:31 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] [fc:A.new.chain.of.command.-.Special.ops.forces.get.a.direct.line.to.the.president] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit A new chain of command - Special ops forces get a direct line to the president By Richard J. Newman The Pentagon has changed its command structure so that President Bush can now issue orders directly to the nation's highest-ranking special operations officer, U.S. News has learned. In a sign of the key role for special ops forces in Operation Enduring Freedom, Gen. Charles Holland has been designated the top operational commander for parts of the action inside Afghanistan. The unusual arrangement means that instead of answering to Gen. Tommy Franksthe commander of Central Command, who is running the overall campaignHolland will report directly to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and President Bush. "We're talking about very narrow, surgical things," says a military official. "It's a direct conduit to the president." Ordinarily, Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, is a "force provider" that handles all of the administrative details for its forces but during a conflict dispatches them to four-star regional commanders such as Franks. The forces then come under the command and control of the regional commander, known as the CINC. In military jargon, Franks, the Central Command boss, would be the "supported CINC" and would have operational control of all forces dispatched to him. Holland, the SOCOM commander, would be the "supporting CINC." He would be a prominent adviser to Franks but would not be in the chain of command. The Pentagon has reversed that command-and-control structure for some of the most sensitive operations inside Afghanistan. Making Holland the third in the chain of command, after the president and the defense secretary, appears designed to ensure that SOCOM's plans and needs are communicated directly to the White House, without being filtered through other military channels, where they could be watered down. "The snake-eaters would say how they want to do it and what they need, as opposed to somebody not as familiar with special ops saying it," says a senior congressional military aide. The streamlined chain of command might also speed the approval needed for spur-of-the-moment raids based on fleeting intelligence regarding the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden or other prime targets. The SOCOM commander has functioned as the supported CINC only rarely in the past. Most of those cases have been very limited classified operations in which SOCOM was working with the CIA or other government agencies to apprehend suspected terrorists, drug runners, or other fugitives. Operation Enduring Freedom would apparently be the first major military campaign in which the SOCOM commander has operational control over some specific missions. And it may reflect lessons learned from recent failures. During secret efforts in 1993 to track down Mohammed Farah Aidid in Somalia, for instance, the special operations commander on the ground reported to Central Command. One of the SOCOM requests was for AC-130 gunships, which might have helped turned the tide in the Battle of Mogadishu, in which 18 U.S. soldiers died. But Central Command downplayed the request, and Washington never granted it. "I wish [SOCOM] would have been the supported CINC for Somalia," says the congressional aide. "It would have given greater voice to the need for AC-130s." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Pinpoint the right security solution for your company- Learn how to add 128- bit encryption and to authenticate your web site with VeriSign's FREE guide! http://us.click.yahoo.com/yQix2C/33_CAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ------------------ http://all.net/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:55 PST