The role of the United States Special Operations Forces from its various military branches throughout the last 2 decades has been immense, especially when their role in Africa and the Middle East is analyzed in depth. They have been heavy players in gathering intelligence vital to many grander missions, and also to capturing and eliminating targets that many consider to be amongst the evilest people on the planet.

According to the Pulitzer Center, US Special Operations Forces were deployed in 22 African countries in 2019, and according to The Intercept, 62 percent of all elite forces serving abroad were in the Middle East in 2019 as well (Inside the World Of US Special Operations in Africa). These pieces of data illustrate the sheer gratitude of numbers where these immensely trained warriors are present, and these number enable to have the tremendous impact they have had thus far. This is just testament to how significant these operators are to our nation’s and ally’s defense.

Their essential role can also be observed in many of the operations they took part in that either eventually or immediately led to the completion of grand objectives. For example, in 2020, Army special operations brought to justice Al-Baghdadi, which was considered to be the number one terrorist in the world being the head of ISIS at the time (Al-Baghdadi eliminated by US Special Operations Forces). They eliminated him in Syria in what was a very dangerous yet ultimately incredibly successful mission with no American casualties. Throughout the rest of the Middle East and Africa, special operations forces have conducted many similar missions to take out other leaders, organizers, and members of other terrorist networks, further establishing the significance of these extraordinary people in filling very large shoes in these regions of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

News, BBC. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: IS leader ‘dead after US raid’ in Syria. 28 October 2019. Website. 11 December 2021.

Turse, Nick. More U.S. Commandos are Fighting Invisible Wars in the MIddle East. September 25 2019. Website. 11 December 2021.

Turse, Nick, Sam Mednick and Amanda Sperber. Exclusive: Inside the Secret World of US Commandos in Africa. 11 August 2020. Website. 11 December 2021.