In the 1960s, President Kennedy ordered the expansion of the US army's small Special Forces element. He wanted experts able to fight both as guerrillas and counter-guerrillas. It took time and there were failures, but 30,000 troops, with many skills, are now available.
One of the Special Operations Forces' 17 "principal missions" is Psychological Operations (PSYOPs). One description (Clancy's Special Forces) says PSYOPs is "designed to positively reinforce and tailor the attitudes of enemy combatants, non-combatants and other individuals towards friendly forces and operations". What you or I might call propaganda, except that it includes "coercion". How much, one wonders? Claims are made that governments have been toppled and wars bloodlessly won by PSYOPs.
The US army has one regular and two reserve PSYOPs groups. Two former members have criticised current operations in Jane's Defence Weekly.
EC-130E Commando Solo aircraft from Oman make radio broadcasts and drop leaflets. It seems that short messages warning Afghans to stay away from barracks, government buildings, bridges and terrorist camps are fairly successful. "Strategic" broadcasts are less so. Sophistication, quality and cultural attention are inadequate.
Osama bin Laden presented stiff competition when he spoke on the al-Jazeera network from Qatar. Condoleeza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld have also appeared on it. Given the emphasis that "the war on terrorism is not a war against Islam", the word "crusade" was a cultural mistake.
It has only recently become pejorative in the West. Gen Eisenhower's book, Crusade in Europe, appeared in 1948. Some of the criticisms read like nit-picking now that the Taliban grip is being loosened. A victorious tide dulls criticism.
The arguments in Britain about using commandos or paratroops are unusual. Such disputes rarely reach the media. The Royal Marine Commandos seemed more suitable because they train for winter fighting in Norway. They are a small organisation with long traditions and high standards of training and discipline. The commando organisation was rather amorphous initially, but it was eventually put into the Royal Marines. Of all the Special Forces raised in the second World War, only the Marine Commandos were not disbanded, (although other forces were reconstituted later).
Parachute Regiment discipline has always been dubious. During the second World War, Lieut-Gen Browning brought in Guards NCOs to improve matters. Their record in Northern Ireland is poor. A brawl between Para officers made court-martial headlines in recent years.
The Paras have shown themselves unsuitable for dealing with civilians. When it was decided to send a brigade (whose advance party now awaits US orders at Bagram Airfield) both Commandos and Paras were included.
Employment of the Paras in a Muslim country in present circumstances is surprising. The London Times published a sharp leading article aimed at both the government and generals, headed "Control the generals and leave the media alone": most unusual in Britain.
Col E.D.Doyle is a former Army Director of Signals who spent much of his career in Operations