The men pictured are not members of the United States Joint Special Operations Command, but are rather members of 1 NZ Special Air Service part of the New Zealand Special Operations Forces.
You gotta love the drone strikes. No suspect to incarcerate, no costly trial, no remains to have to identify. We can claim anybody died in the attack. Send the drones to Libya and Syria.
Finally a strategy that makes a lot more sense than what they have been doing for the last 7 years. Our presence in that region should be at an absolute minimum. Leave it to the best of the best to take care of business like they always do. Bring our troops home and strengthen defense here. There will NEVER be an end to a war on terror. To think otherwise is lunacy.
There will always be people that hold extreme views and will never compromise on them. It is only important that these groups are kept in check. Besides the loss of life which is priceless, too much $$$ has been spent on these endeavors and the M.I.C. (Military Industrial Complex) cannot be sustained with our nation's economy circling the drain.
shortydoowap, TokyoAvenger: For the most part, your reaction is BS.
That is similar BS that Cheney tried to tell us when the media insisted on showing the coffins wrapped in the American flag during the height of the Iraqi war because the propaganda from those photos would only benefit the enemy as his stern belief that torture benefits us.
The truth is the Taliban will kill any U.S. solider that they can get their hands on. You have to have some common sense.
You are merely trying to smear CBS.
The guy on the left covering his face is a CIA agent and his identity probably should be protected and CBS probably got permission to show this photo under the agreement that they are not positively identified as special forces.
Maybe you missed the caption that says they are US Special Forces. Maybe they are, maybe they are British SAS or the SFs of some Commonwealth country. The simple fact is they are not run-of-the-mill leg soldiers. This photo, one among a series of these soldiers, have been bandied about for several days by news organizations all touting that the are special forces soldiers. The simple fact is their identities should be protected. Their safety may mean nothing to you, but to those of us who appreciate the sacrifice of our service men, it does. Frankly, the photographer's camera should have been seized and smashed.
Cheney was wrong and that has nothing to do with this.
This is the same as when someone exposes an undercover law enforcement agent. It compromises the agent's safety and their future operations.
Yes, the Taliban will kill any U.S. soldier they can. But why give an Al Qaeda terrorist (who is probably already in a major city) the faces of high value soldiers. Soldiers who might be operating in those same cities. Common sense says error on the side of caution.
And I completely agree with shortydoowap.
By the way, I've never commented on a CBS article before today. And yes, I do look at the site regularly. This is a question of right and wrong and protecting the people who keep us safe.
In response to shorty, these men know the risks. Okay? They accept them, they know exactly what they are sacrificing. In war no one is safe. I care for these men and have the greatest respect for them. It just isn't reasonable to think this photo is placing them in greater jeopardy. For them, it is just another day on the job.
TokyoAvenger re:"This is the same as when someone exposes an undercover law enforcement agent. It compromises the agent's safety and their future operations."
Keyword undercover
As I said, the plainclothes CIA agent on the left needs to have his identity protected because he gathers and analyzes contacts and it is extremely important for him to keep his cover because he is very vulnerable where as our military personnel are in unison with each other --- you never see soldiers going out on their own.
Special forces are not under cover and they are a part of a much larger group of servicemen who, by the way, have killed a lot more enemies collectively than just our special forces. The Taliban doesn't discriminate and manage to kill any of our boys.
The special forces are a specialty -- they are not pilots, or army surgeons, commanders, or any other member of the forces that are just as valuable to our cause. They train for possible varibles and when the time comes that we need that particular operation, they go in and go out and their done. They mingle with other general operations you might suggest as their safety. The special forces that got OBL trained for that operation way before they had all the information they needed. It's not like they are sitting in a tent somewhere waiting for a phone call.
Actually, do know why the one guy is wearing a beard? Probably because the Taliban have no respect for clean shaven pilots that never face combat -- Those are the ones they really want to kill the most and the Taliban have a lot of respect for our best fighters because they consider themselves to be the elite killers. they really look down on us for using drones and they find no honor in that. Respect goes both ways and with that beard, if he should ever get caught, he just might know just enough Pashto and Muslim faith Symantec's to save his own life and escape when given the opportunity.
Shortydoowap.
First of all, it is really rude and chicken sh*t to evaluate anyone's gratitude and level of patriotism as an American. You don't know me or anyone else that posts their opinions let alone our own contributions as Americans.
I didn't miss the caption but I did read the part where they said "according to sources" which everyone knows is their disclaimer.
Another point, the President didn't want to show the grim photos of OBL and to bury at sea because out of not wanting to incite the Taliban and out of respect for the Muslims in general -- in saying that, with all the speculation it, really isn't out of line to show photos of people involved with operations just as a special agent was shown full blown while inspecting Saddam Hussein right after his capture and I can honestly give you more examples.
Another point, if you take Vietnam for an example, many journalists were invited into the bush only to learn that their lives are dependent on these soldiers and too many of them have learned that they will become victims of "friendly fire" if they should compromise their the operation and/or their safety as well.
In saying that, if the State department really believed that CBS was compromising their soldiers, they would surely cease their abilities to cover any more operations. People who post on CBS stories have zero influence on news coverage of military operations.
Another point, the President just gave a soldier the highest medal of honor for his brave combat duties with the whole world seeing his face. He probably killed hundreds of enemies.
According to you, maybe he too should not be honored for all of us to see with pride? right?
I think there are many Americans that are scared and frightened and in my opinion, it is those Americans that are compromising my liberties as many of you frightened people want to bunker in on our soil, turn our airports into fortresses all in the name of "Common sense says error on the side of caution" as TokyoAvenger believes.
In reality, that is exactly what the terrorists wanted to do on 911 (which is what you dial when you have an emergency) it is you that is playing in on their hand not most of us and these brave soldiers.
The honorable thing to do is to not let the terrorists put fear in us and accept the reality that you may get blown up on an airplane and die just like our soldiers do everyday.
Why is it that only they die? Maybe it is only you that is afraid for them because they apparently are not afraid.
CBS and other news outlets that posted this photo obviously never heard of OPSEC or PERSEC. The identities of special operations troops, and their locations, is to be strictly protected. Shame, SHAME, SHAME on the media for not only posting a photo that they thought were special operations soldiers, but where they were deployed.
CBS should be ashamed!!! CBS is breaking the golden rule of journalism. They posted a facial picture of someone who is essentially undercover. Their very action exposes these dedicated soldiers to possible retribution. At least have the common decency to take the picture down. We should all write the FCC and our government representatives.
CBS, thank you for posting a close-up photo of US troops who are either Green Berets or members of 1st SFOD-Delta. There's a reason the military blurs out the faces of Special Ops soldiers. You've put the lives of four brave soldiers in greater danger.
Our special ops troops have set a very high standard on the battlefield. Their operations are much more precision than general troop operations. With the death of Bin Laden larger operations are arguable unnecessary and are politically and financally risky. We need to continue focus on Al Queda, Haqqanni network and other pockets of extremists that pose a threat. Our intelligence & spec op units have repeatedly proven their effectiveness to penetrate these networks during the last few years. We should applaud their efforts and back them 100%.
There is something very odd about the picture associated with this story -- The group of men identified as US special forces look more like a Hollywood image of special forces than real special forces. Long hair and beards on military forces???
When you go to the Getty Images site and look up this photo (and a whole series like it), the caption is "Non-Afghan soldiers". These are probably some of the many "mercenary soldiers" our tax dollars are paying for. I would say our lazy news media did not do fact checking and just labeled it with "US Special Forces" to fit in with the story line .. the same picture appears in the WSJ on a similar front page story.
US spec op troops do not look like regular troops. They do wear long hair and are in many ways unorthodox. I served with some of the longest haired hippies you can imagine. They are groom and dress to suit the mission. Period.
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There will always be people that hold extreme views and will never compromise on them. It is only important that these groups are kept in check. Besides the loss of life which is priceless, too much $$$ has been spent on these endeavors and the M.I.C. (Military Industrial Complex) cannot be sustained with our nation's economy circling the drain.
For the most part, your reaction is BS.
That is similar BS that Cheney tried to tell us when the media insisted on showing the coffins wrapped in the American flag during the height of the Iraqi war because the propaganda from those photos would only benefit the enemy as his stern belief that torture benefits us.
The truth is the Taliban will kill any U.S. solider that they can get their hands on. You have to have some common sense.
You are merely trying to smear CBS.
The guy on the left covering his face is a CIA agent and his identity probably should be protected and CBS probably got permission to show this photo under the agreement that they are not positively identified as special forces.
Cheney was wrong and that has nothing to do with this.
This is the same as when someone exposes an undercover law enforcement agent. It compromises the agent's safety and their future operations.
Yes, the Taliban will kill any U.S. soldier they can. But why give an Al Qaeda terrorist (who is probably already in a major city) the faces of high value soldiers. Soldiers who might be operating in those same cities. Common sense says error on the side of caution.
And I completely agree with shortydoowap.
By the way, I've never commented on a CBS article before today. And yes, I do look at the site regularly. This is a question of right and wrong and protecting the people who keep us safe.
TokyoAvenger re:"This is the same as when someone exposes an undercover law enforcement agent. It compromises the agent's safety and their future operations."
Keyword undercover
As I said, the plainclothes CIA agent on the left needs to have his identity protected because he gathers and analyzes contacts and it is extremely important for him to keep his cover because he is very vulnerable where as our military personnel are in unison with each other --- you never see soldiers going out on their own.
Special forces are not under cover and they are a part of a much larger group of servicemen who, by the way, have killed a lot more enemies collectively than just our special forces. The Taliban doesn't discriminate and manage to kill any of our boys.
The special forces are a specialty -- they are not pilots, or army surgeons, commanders, or any other member of the forces that are just as valuable to our cause. They train for possible varibles and when the time comes that we need that particular operation, they go in and go out and their done. They mingle with other general operations you might suggest as their safety. The special forces that got OBL trained for that operation way before they had all the information they needed. It's not like they are sitting in a tent somewhere waiting for a phone call.
Actually, do know why the one guy is wearing a beard? Probably because the Taliban have no respect for clean shaven pilots that never face combat -- Those are the ones they really want to kill the most and the Taliban have a lot of respect for our best fighters because they consider themselves to be the elite killers.
they really look down on us for using drones and they find no honor in that.
Respect goes both ways and with that beard, if he should ever get caught, he just might know just enough Pashto and Muslim faith Symantec's to save his own life and escape when given the opportunity.
Shortydoowap.
First of all, it is really rude and chicken sh*t to evaluate anyone's gratitude and level of patriotism as an American. You don't know me or anyone else that posts their opinions let alone our own contributions as Americans.
I didn't miss the caption but I did read the part where they said "according to sources" which everyone knows is their disclaimer.
Another point, the President didn't want to show the grim photos of OBL and to bury at sea because out of not wanting to incite the Taliban and out of respect for the Muslims in general -- in saying that, with all the speculation it, really isn't out of line to show photos of people involved with operations just as a special agent was shown full blown while inspecting Saddam Hussein right after his capture and I can honestly give you more examples.
Another point, if you take Vietnam for an example, many journalists were invited into the bush only to learn that their lives are dependent on these soldiers and too many of them have learned that they will become victims of "friendly fire" if they should compromise their the operation and/or their safety as well.
In saying that, if the State department really believed that CBS was compromising their soldiers, they would surely cease their abilities to cover any more operations. People who post on CBS stories have zero influence on news coverage of military operations.
Another point, the President just gave a soldier the highest medal of honor for his brave combat duties with the whole world seeing his face. He probably killed hundreds of enemies.
According to you, maybe he too should not be honored for all of us to see with pride? right?
I think there are many Americans that are scared and frightened and in my opinion, it is those Americans that are compromising my liberties as many of you frightened people want to bunker in on our soil, turn our airports into fortresses all in the name of "Common sense says error on the side of caution" as TokyoAvenger believes.
In reality, that is exactly what the terrorists wanted to do on 911 (which is what you dial when you have an emergency) it is you that is playing in on their hand not most of us and these brave soldiers.
The honorable thing to do is to not let the terrorists put fear in us and accept the reality that you may get blown up on an airplane and die just like our soldiers do everyday.
Why is it that only they die? Maybe it is only you that is afraid for them because they apparently are not afraid.
Semper Fi