America Mismatches Special Forces With Civil War

US special forces units have been recalled for a mission they were never designed to support: Civil wars.

The surprise isn't that they're being assigned to the wrong mission, but that the recalled special forces were honorably discharged more than 20 years ago. The war in Iraq isn't about threatening the lives of America’s youth. They're putting the lives of America's mothers, fathers, and grandparents at risk.

This recall smacks of the same desperation the Russians had in WWII facing the Nazis. Things are spinning out of control, especially when the problem could be easily solved.

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After the President made his 10 Jan 2007 address on the Iraqi surges, the orders were issued for special forces to report to duty.

However, the call to arms is not the usual request.

The President and Secretary of Defense have dug deep into the special forces files.

Veterans who were honorably discharged over 20 years ago have been called back to service.

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The US military has exhausted its current pool of military veterans. It must dig deep into history to find skill sets.

The special forces units are well over the 40-year-age limit currently applied to new recruits.

The special forces who were honorably discharged more than 20 years ago are in their 40s and 50s.

America's leaders are desperate. There is inadequate training.

Special forces units were never trained to resolve civil wars. They might have been prepared to provide training.

Special forces units, when they are called to serve, are there to support insurgencies against larger conventional forces.

Today's call to arms asks older special forces to come back to service, go through refresher training, provide assistance and training to the Iraqis, and support a civil war.

This is absurd.

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The Special forces were never designed to provide a stabilizing force while a country's combatants waged war against each other.

The United States government is assigning the wrong personnel to the mission they were not designed to do. IT doesn't matter how artfully the President defines the mission: US special forces are not the right forces for the Iraqi civil war.

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The solution to the problem is to work with all nations who supposedly oppose the most extremist. However, the US, by stirring up trouble in Afghanistan, Somalia, and Iraq, is creating a bigger problem for itself.

America is desperate not because the enemy is bold, but because its incompetent leaders are not credibly challenged, remove from office, and replaced with leaders who are serious about solutions, not creating worldwide enemies.