An ordinary American viewing the current direction of armed conflict involving our military forces sees a much different landscape than in past decades. We now observe official Pentagon photos of Special Forces soldiers on horseback, riding alongside the Northern Alliance in the foothills of Afghanistan. They are dressed in Army fatigues but all have beards -- the marker of nearly all the men in the region. They 'blend into' the local population. These Americans have made liaison with allied clan leaders, trained the Afghans in the use of coordinated air-land attack and engaged in firefights with the Taliban when attacked. They have taken the lead in routing al Qaeda terrorists out of the extensive cave complexes in Afghanistan after the major opposition 'melted' into the landscape after being defeated on the ground by Alliance Afghans in Mazar-e-Sharif, Kabul, and Kandahar.
Few Americans know any of these men. Their missions are all classified secret. Even their parents and......
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