by Chris Martin
Delta operators corralled the vehicle of Abu Anas al Libi—an AQ planner with alleged ties to the 1998 embassy bombings—and snatched him off the streets of Tripoli in October 2013. They then nabbed Ahmed abu Khatallah—a ringleader of the Benghazi attacks—in another low-vis operation June 2014.
And in July of 2014, the Unit mounted a complex hostage rescue attempt of journalist James Foley, descending on a remote ISIS-held oil facility near Raqqah, Syria. The operators neutralized a large terrorist contingent but found it to be a dry hole and extracted.
Despite the mission’s execution being described as “flawless” and “magic,” it failed to rescue Foley, who is believed to have been moved just days before the operation. He was viciously beheaded in the sort of unspeakable act typical of ISIS, further amping up the already stoked tension.
With ISIS tempting the repowering of JSOC’s industrial killing machine, and precision, clandestine operations dotting the globe in response to the continued scourge of terrorism, the nation’s elite snipers are destined to remain as valuable as they’ve ever been.
They are tide-turning human weapons custom fit for this new age of warfare—men who can operate unseen or undercover. They are uniquely capable of operating both in preparation for larger forces or with unilateral lethality.
There will be no shortage of work for America’s special operations snipers in the foreseeable future. In fact, despite making the most outrageously disproportionate contributions of any troops throughout the Global War on Terror to date, this exceptional breed of warrior may very well prove even more critical in the next phase than it was the last.
Acknowledgments
First of all, I want to thank my girlfriend, Kristin, who showed immeasurable patience and offered endless support despite all the weeks of my coming to bed at 4 A.M. to complete work on this book. I’d also like to thank my writing assistant, Koda, for reminding me that it’s necessary to take a break every now and then.
Also, thank you to Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy and the entire gang at SOFREP for showing the faith in this “been here, done jack” to create something worthy of their name.
The same goes for my editor, Marc Resnick, and St. Martin’s Press. I had pored through any number of books he’s edited and it’s pretty cool to be on the other end of things. The operational tempo and intelligence fusion required on the publisher’s end to pull this off would have left Stanley McChrystal dizzy.
Thanks to the dozens of guys who were willing to share their experiences downrange, both anonymously and on the record. The personalities were wide-ranging, but to a man, they were extremely generous with both their time and what they were willing to share.
I’d also like to say thanks for the dozens of incredible reporters whose work served as sources of both inspiration and knowledge. Writers such as Sean Naylor, Mark Urban, Marc Ambinder, Mark Bowden, and David Brown really do amazing work in a difficult field. There are too many others to mention—if not pared down, this title’s bibliography could be longer than the rest of the book.
Finally, I want to thank all of my friends and family, but in particular, my parents, Don and Rita, who have always been more supportive than I could have dreamed.
This book would have never happened if not for my dad and on multiple levels. He was the young MACV-SOG Green Beret featured in chapter 13, and his service sparked my lifelong interest in special operations—particularly black ops. It was the same story over and over again when I approached spec ops snipers about possibly participating in the book. “Who are you?” “I’m a motorsports journalist.” “Why are you writing this? Why you do care?” After I’d give them a brief background, the standard response was, “Wow! MACV-SOG, those guys are my heroes.…”
I never wanted to make it seem as if I was trading on my dad’s achievements, but I think that history made them understand the sort of respect I have for the type of work they do and made it a bit easier to trust someone they didn’t know.
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Please note that some of the links referenced in this work are no longer active.
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