CIAO DATE: 06/2009
December 2008
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
This paper argues that unconventional methods and special operations should not be limited to military Special Operations Forces. It examines a potential role for Special Operations Forces (SOF) in a Counter Insurgency (COIN), with specific reference to Unity of Effort. Special Forces are the sharpest instruments in the military toolbox available to policymakers, yet the great tactical success of these forces has not necessarily been translated into strategic success. The underlying argument is that the successes of unorthodox means for political ends learnt from Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War paved the way for today’s SOF. The lesson learnt, however, was the wrong one. Rather, the principal lesson to be learnt from SOE activities during the Second World War is not one of employing unorthodox means for political ends, but of the need for a Unity of Effort towards international crises/conflicts/insurgencies that includes Unconventional Methods.
Resource link: 'Flipping the COIN' Unity of Effort and Special Operations Forces [PDF] - 605K