Counterterrorism

Where warrior-spies fight in the shadows

Operating hand-in-glove with CIA intelligence officers in hostile and inhospitable environments, special warfare groups have taken terrorist plotters, facilitators, and bomb-makers off the battlefield by employing commando-type raids or remotely controlled drone airstrikes. Others have trained, advised, and mentored local forces in Asia and Africa as well as Iraq and Syria to combat indigenous terrorist bands bent on carving out “caliphates,” from which to launch terrorism against America and the West.

This warrior-spy counterterrorism war fought in the shadows gets only intermittent news media coverage, usually when a high-valued terrorist is dispatched by a raid force or drone missile. Our specialized warriors pride themselves on being “quiet professionals” rarely offering glimpses into their risky missions. But they need not be unsung by those they render safe. As George Orwell memorably put it: “We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.”