Oh, what the hell, here is the long version. In the spirit of Forum Rule #6 I offer the following angle; one which I have not seen articulated anywhere yet, though it may have been. Speaking generically, all those *within* any community always have a light upon themselves; that is what makes them a community. They see each other. However, those outside of that community have a life, and communities of their own; these outsiders only see the first community when light shines upon it from without, or glows from within. And even this vision most often occurs with only a short attention span and fleeting interest. Some folks within a community even lament the fact others don’t pay enough attention to them, pay enough homage, or provide enough support. Then when interest is expressed, it’s too much and they complain. Everyone wants it “just right.” PerSec: The Special Operations Community might think that it is mighty special, and this is understandable. All communities are like that. But, quite frankly, absent the light from within, most other communities don’t think much about Special Operations. It seems to me if the AQ community has their attention drawn to, and is willing to spend their limited time, energy and resources in pursuit of the DEVGRU community (including families), that might be a good thing. If AQ is roaming our streets looking for targets, better they go after hard targets which operate under Big Boy Rules, and those communities whose calling is the defense of those outside of their community. Special Operations personnel are not more special than the people they are charged with defending. And to say they can’t or won’t do their job, or won’t do it as well if hounded by an enemy, or when worried about the safety of loved ones, well, that just won’t fly. BBRs. But I’m not so sure it’s really much of an issue. If what I am told by my government is true, AQ is composed of cowards who will seek to spend their limited time, energy and resources hitting soft targets in the U.S. On the other hand, my government could be wrong. I’m not aware of AQ (or those they inspire) going after shopping malls, trains, Super Bowl Games, Sikh, Christian or Jewish places of worship, movie theaters, swimming pools, college campuses, school yards, concerts and the like. I’ve only heard about the military targets (Pentagon, U.S.S. Cole, Ft. Hood soldiers (on and off base)) and strategic targets (embassies, the World Trade Centers, airlines, etc.), albeit with some “innocent” civilian collateral damage. (My quotes around “innocent” are intentional; see “America” below). So maybe the AQ community will start a personal vendetta-thing with the Special Operations community. Again, wouldn’t that be a good thing? So, back to the current media ruckus, either Special Operations people killed UBL, or the POTUS killed UBL, or “America” killed UBL; depending on who you talk to. Maybe all three killed UBL? But, as a Marine, I figure I’d rather they come after me than the POTUS or America. I’m not saying I’m special, but there is that whole “locate, close with and destroy” and “repel” thing. You’d think the Special Operations community would be saying: “Come and get me motherfuckers. That’s what I’m here for!” Camouflage, cover and concealment are good things, but the Special Operations PerSec thing might be just a little too “special” by their own analysis. When some group says “America” killed UBL and not the military Commander In Chief, they might be right, but I think they are shining the light in the wrong direction. Better they do what the author of the new book has done and say “Me, me, me!” Better they point their finger at the POTUS and say “Yeah, he killed your boy. Come and get him!” Better the AQ target is shifted away from “innocent” Americans and toward the military and its leadership. I don’t often hear civilians say how lucky they are to have our military fighting the enemy “over there” instead of here at home; it’s usually vets who say that. Nor do I often hear civilians invoking the quote about sleeping peacefully at night while rough men do their business; again, it’s usually vets who call upon that saying. To extend that same veteran reasoning, if AQ is over here, in America, walking our streets, looking for a target, I think it is better they seek out the rough men, don’t you? No doubt some hack from either side will spin these recent disclosures as intentional bait for AQ, laid by government in an effort to distract AQ from greater evil. OpSec I haven’t read the book so I don’t know if there are any OpSec violations within it. I’m not sure I would know even if I had read the book. Thank you for the opportunity to put this argument out there. I’m not married to it and I’m interested to hear another angle.
