The U.S. war against al Qaeda is entering a new and difficult stage with the anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan now controlling all of the country except for the city of Kandahar and the already-infamous Tora Bora cave complex southwest of Jalalabad.

Having won all but a handful of pockets of Afghanistan in a stunning orchestration of airpower and Special Operations forces, Gen. Tommy Franks and his operational planners at U.S. Central Command are facing one of the gravest decisions to date in the Afghanistan campaign: whether to besiege and contain the defiant but retreating forces of the Taliban and al Qaeda, or to go in after them in two of the worst battlefield environments on the face of the earth: the claustrophobic alleyways of Kandahar and the deep tunnel complexes at Tora Bora.

Unconfirmed accounts in the Western news media this week indicate that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is holed up in Kandahar with as many as 4,000 of his fanatical soldiers, while Osama bin Laden and as many as 2,000 of his non-Afghan fighters have retreated to a complex of underground caves near Tora Bora. The brutal and suicidal resistance of several hundred of these fighters at the prison near

With the ongoing deployment of a 1,000-man Marine Air-Ground Task Force to a site near Kandahar and reports of increased air base preparations in countries surrounding Afghanistan, it is clear that the Central Command is preparing for a final hunt for the al Qaeda leadership. Indeed, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard B. Myers said Monday that U.S. aircraft had already struck cave and tunnel complexes within Afghanistan suspected as terrorist hideouts.

The as-yet unanswered question is how the U.S. and anti-Taliban Afghan fighters intend to proceed against these heavily defended sites. Close-quarter combat in either location will inevitably result in American combat fatalities (as well as civilian deaths in the city).

It is has long been known that the “black” elements of the U.S. Special Operations Command – particularly the Army’s Delta Force and Naval Special Warfare Development Group (formerly SEAL Team 6) – have trained extensively for warfare under the ground, a nightmare scenario of close-quarter combat in darkened tunnels festooned with booby traps, mines and enemy gun positions.

Moreover, the U.S. force in Afghanistan is reportedly equipped with a broad array of advanced heat sensors, ground radar and surveillance platforms that will probably make a near-impossible mission merely dangerous and extremely difficult.

Those capabilities exist today because many of our potential adversaries have been digging in for the past decade.

Throughout the 1990s, countries including North Korea, Libya and Iraq studied the devastating impact of U.S. precision-guided munitions on Iraqi surface targets during Operation Desert Storm, and opted for what experts call the “poor man’s defense.” At the Yongbyon nuclear complex in North Korea, the Tarhuna chemical weapons complex in Libya and a number of sites in Iraq, our adversaries tunneled hundreds – if not thousands – of feet under bedrock to shelter their nuclear, chemical and biological weapons factories from the most advanced U.S. “smart” weapons. And in Afghanistan, the Taliban inherited an ancient labyrinth of caves and tunnels used for countless generations as a redoubt against foreign invaders.

It also is no secret that both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps have long trained for MOUT – military operations on urban terrain – anticipating that future targets in expeditionary warfare would choose to hide in cities behind a civilian population. The “Battle of the Black Sea” in Mogadishu eight years ago underscored the challenge and steep price to pay in urban combat.

The Bush administration and Pentagon have clearly articulated that the ongoing war against terrorism will be protracted, lengthy and will probably lack a decisive battlefield victory. Unlike the Clinton administration before it, which retreated from Somalia after one bloody battle and signaled in advance its fear of committing ground troops to Kosovo, the Bush administration and its military commanders are willing to meet the strategic imperatives of the war with sufficient military force that implicitly recognizes the inevitability of combat deaths.

But this is not the same thing as recklessly pursuing a short-term victory high in cost of human life when the strategic goals can be met with less bloodshed.

It now appears likely that the U.S. forces – while continuing to exploit the retreat of enemy fighters with air strikes and rapid SOF tactical raids – will opt to draw a ring around Kandahar and the caves of Tora Bora until a sufficient force of Afghan fighters can be assembled to carry out the ground war’s endgame next spring.

Franks himself on Tuesday said, “We do not intend to go in and begin to just bomb the city of Kandahar. We will pursue Kandahar militarily, the same way we have pursued the cities in the north …. ”

Barring a lucky breakthrough in U.S. intelligence or a blunder by either Mullah Omar or bin Laden, the war in Afghanistan appears to be heading for a winter lull – with the forces of terrorism cowering in their holes and the vast majority of the country around them recovering from years of terror.

Ed Offley is Editor of DefenseWatch.

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Hack’s Target For The Week: The Marines Have Landed – Again
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By David H. Hackworth

The first non-Special Ops unit deployed to Afghanistan is the U.S. Marines Corps – no big surprise to this old Army doggie.

In World War II's South Pacific, Marines were “the firstus with the mostus” into the Solomons, and they led the way into Vietnam. In Korea, they landed second, but unlike the Army units initially deployed there, Gen. Edward Craig's Marine brigade hit the beach ready to fight. And without their skill, sacrifice and courage, the beleaguered Eighth Army would've been pushed into the sea during the early months of the conflict.

A similar scenario occurred during the early stages of Operation Desert Storm, in which Marine units came in ready to fight while the first Army troops – the 82nd Airborne Division, with its insufficient anti-tank capability – were a potential speed bump waiting to be flattened.

The Corps, which has never lost sight that its primary mission is to fight, remains superbly trained and disciplined – true to its time-honored slogan “We don't promise a rose garden.” When, under President Clinton, the Army lowered its standards to Boy Scout summer-camp level in order to increase enlistment, the Corps responded by making boot training longer and tougher. Now under Commandant Gen. James Jones, that training has gotten even meaner for the young Marine wannabes waiting in line to join up, as well as for Leathernecks already serving in regular and reserve units.

Unlike U.S. Army conventional units – whose new slogan, “An Army of One,” says it all – the U.S. Marine Corps remains a highly mobile, fierce fighting team that has never forgotten: “The more sweat on the training field, the less blood on the battlefield.”

The Marines are flexible, agile, ready and deadly, while the Army remains configured to fight the Soviets – who disappeared off the Order of Battle charts a decade ago. For example, right after Sept. 11, the two Army heavy divisions in Germany – with their 68-ton tanks that can crush almost every bridge they cross – deployed to Poland for war games.

Hello, is there a brain at the top somewhere beneath that snazzy Black Beret being modeled at most U.S. airports by too many overweight Army National Guard troops?

The Army has eight other regular divisions, all designed to fight 20th-century wars. Three are heavy – tank and mech Infantry – and two are light, the storied 82nd Airborne and the elite 101st Airborne (now Air Assault), and then there's the light/heavy 10,000-man 2nd Infantry Division that's in Korea backing up a million-man, superbly fit South Korean Army.

Less the light divisions, our Army's not versatile, deployable, swift or sustainable. The heavy units require fleets of ships and planes to move them, and it takes months to get them there – it took Stormin' Norman six months to ready a force for Desert Storm. The 101st – while deadly, as Desert Storm proved – is also a slow mover requiring a huge amount of strategic lift – ships and giant planes – to get to the battlefield, not to mention the massive tax-dollar load to outfit and maintain it.

Sadly, today's Army is like a street fighter with brass knuckles too heavy to lift.

After the Rangers' disaster in Somalia – where there were no tanks to break through to relieve them – and the embarrassment of not being able to fight in the war in Serbia, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki started forming light brigades strikingly similar to USMC units. When I asked, “Why the copycatting?” an Army officer said: “It was either copy or go out of business. We'd become redundant because of long-term lack of boldness and imagination at the top.”

The Army costs about $80 billion a year to run. It's time for Congress to do its duty and stop enjoying the benefits of all the pork this obsolescence and redundancy provides. If the Army can't change with the times – as the powerful horse cavalry generals couldn't just prior to World War II – then it should fold up its tents and turn the ground-fighting mission over to the Marines.

The law of nature is simple: survival of the fittest. And in the 21st century, heartbreaking as it is for me to admit, the forward-based and highly deployable U.S. Marine Corps is the fittest.

http://www.hackworth.com is the address of David Hackworth's home page. Sign in for the free weekly Defending America column at his Web site. Send mail to P.O. Box 11179, Greenwich, CT 06831.

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ARTICLE 01 – A Salute to the Marines from an Air Force Serviceman

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By Paul Connors

Regardless of inter-service jokes and rivalries, let it never be said that the U.S. Air Force doesn't respect and admire the United States Marine Corps.

Like so many other Americans since Sept. 11, I found myself wondering which service would be the first to put troops on the ground in Afghanistan once the Air Force and naval aviation completed the bulk of their bombing missions.

I found myself pondering the history of several Army units and the Marines and tried to determine which one would get the nod. Would it be the 82nd Airborne or the 10th Mountain Division? Or, would it be “the few, the proud, the Marines?” As of Nov. 26, Americans at home and people around the world found out that the world's pre-eminent and most historic fighting force had once again answered its country's call and headed for the sound of the guns.

The Marines now on the ground in Afghanistan have a lengthy and proud history. They have served in every one of this country's conflicts back to Nov. 10, 1775, and they have never, ever failed us. From the foretops of “men o' war” to Belleau Wood, and from Wake Island, Saipan and Iwo Jima to Hue, they have stood up when counted and made their Corps and their country proud.

After Vietnam, the Marine Corps continued to serve as America's fire brigade, a service with unique capabilities, an unequaled esprit de corps and standards that they would not betray or diminish. They were there again in Grenada and Beirut, where 242 Leathernecks died carrying out their nation's foreign policy. Marines returned to their classic amphibious roots in Operation Desert Storm and while the Clinton Administration sought to “de-militarize” the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard with lower standards and integrated basic training, the Marine Corps alone, refused to bow or buckle to the winds of political expediency.

Marines have a system that works and they know it. They are also proud of that fact, just as they are justifiably proud of their achievements and the many hard-fought battles in their 226-year history. And now, as the United States faces one of its most difficult military campaigns, it has once again called on its fabled Corps to go in harm's way to do a job the average American would probably rather not think about. It is dangerous and ugly work. The hours are long and the working conditions are less than pristine.

But U.S. Marines never shirk or complain or balk when given a difficult task. Unlike the average spoiled American, these “grunts” have willingly accepted the challenges they face. I have always marveled at one seemingly simple observation: the tougher the job, the more the Marines like it.

So, in this first year of the new millennium and at the very beginning of the Corps' 227th year, they have once more landed on “foreign shores.” They have done so quickly and with a minimum of fanfare. But they are there and in control of the situation. I would hate to be Osama Bin Laden or another member of Al Qaeda knowing that the “devil dogs” were hunting me. Despite the fact that their numbers on the ground in Afghanistan are not great when compared to their past battlefields, the combination of unequaled training and technology will allow them to excel and prevail in this most difficult of campaigns.

The Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists are facing men who, while not immortal, are on a crusade. The Marines are in Afghanistan to avenge the murder of their innocent fellow countrymen and to restore balance and justice to a chaotic part of the world. As our Marines go about our nation's business, let us not forget their dedication, perseverance and sense of mission.

And as this chapter in the annals of Marine Corps history is written, it should be remembered by Americans everywhere that this latest generation of Americans proudly upheld the honor of their corps and lived up to their motto, “Semper Fidelis.”

Paul Connors is DefenseWatch Air Force Editor.

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ARTICLE 02 – Terrorist ‘Sleepers’ – An Ancient Threat

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By Robert G. Williscroft

Terrorism is the indiscriminate use of force and coercion against innocent, uninvolved individuals.

In today's world, terrorism seems to be divided into three distinct types. One type concerns itself with “internal” affairs – directing its terrorist activities against fairly well defined “opposition” elements. Most notable among these are the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Timothy McVeigh types, several African tribal groups, several Southeast Asian and South American “political” organizations, and at least two related to drug-trafficking.

The second type is typified by the now defunct Baader-Meinhof Gang in Germany – it is entirely commercial, supplying services to the highest bidder. The third type is strictly religious, owing its allegiance to several Islamic orders.

“Internal” terrorists should be handled by the authorities in the countries wherein they operate, unless these authorities request outside assistance. Terrorism for hire and drug-related terrorism are international scourges that ought to be handled like any other heinous criminal activity. Islamic religious terrorism, on the other hand, should be examined more closely, since this has become the next great international crisis.

Islam spread throughout the world after the conquests by the Caliphs in the 7th and 8th centuries. Around 1000 AD, an offshoot of the Isma'ili Islamic sect took root in India under the leadership of Mohammed Agha Khan. Known as the Nizaris, they were reputed to partake immoderately of hashish, so that they were also called hashshashins. In fact, these hashshashins became well known for the carefully planned murder of enemies of their sect – hence the word, assassin.

The Isma'ilis developed a well-deserved reputation of being prepared to sacrifice themselves in the service and for the cause of Islam. They became the legendary swords of Imams (Moslem clerics) the world over. There is a lot of intellectual controversy concerning the origins of the Nizari assassins, and much of the recorded history may well be more the stuff of legend than historically accurate.

Nevertheless, in the early 19th century, the Isma'ili Imam received the official title of Agha Khan from the Shah of Persia, harking back to the [mythical] origins of the sect. This enterprising representative of Allah actually issued his assassin followers letters of introduction to the angel Gabriel in order to secure for them a good place in Paradise.

This ploy has not been lost on modern Islam leaders – especially the late Ayatollah Khomeni of Iran and his successors, and more recently Osama bin Laden – who routinely dispatch assassins throughout the world, promising them a place in paradise. When you are a soldier of Allah Himself, guided by the hand of his holy Imam, you are unlikely to be impressed by international decrees outlawing terrorism.

Today, radical Muslim assassins are located throughout the world, set to destroy target unbelievers upon a signal from their Imams. The killings of Israeli Olympic athletes, the suicide car-bombing of the American compound in Lebanon, the downing of the Pan Am flight over Scotland, the destruction of several U.S. Embassies, the attack on the USS Cole, the attack on the Pentagon and destruction of the World Trade Center Towers – are all verified examples of this activity.

The danger is very real to anyone anywhere who publicly undermines or appears to undermine fundamentalist Islamic beliefs and actions. Several years ago, I personally experienced this danger. The Ayatollah Khomeni had just issued his death sentence on Salman Rushdie for his book, Satanic Verses. I carried the back page of a national magazine, and I dedicated that page to a condemnation of the Ayatollah.

I also wrote a weekly column that was carried in papers across the Northwest. In that week's column I exposed the nature of the assassins from the past and their very real danger in today's world. Shortly thereafter I was the object of demonstrations by masked mid-eastern college students, and have received periodic telephonic death threats for the past ten years.

The danger to everyone is all the more real because these assassins jealously guard their identities and association with the sect controlling them. Their services are available to any Imam, and the vast wealth of the oil-rich Arab region is indirectly available to finance their activities in much the same manner that the wealth of western corporations can be tapped by Christian church authorities, except that Islam has more direct access because of the fuzzy distinction between Moslem church and state identities.

Hamza Hendawi writing in The Washington Times on Nov. 24, said that current assassin cells are populated by hundreds of al Qaeda-trained soldiers. They no longer pump themselves up with hashish, but are filled instead with an unflagging belief in their spiritual righteousness and the certainty of their heavenly reward. They are taught to blend in completely, and to await the call of their Imam to Jihad – holy war.

Terrorism in the guise of religion is far more insidious than terrorism for hire. We must deal with it decisively and completely – at the source. These cells won't work without initializing orders. We need to identify and bring stern justice to bear on those Islamic Clerics who -- as opposed merely to expressing viewpoints in opposition to American policies in the Mideast and South Asia -- are found actually to control and direct these terrorist cells, or who issue clear death threats or exhortations to violence by their followers.

The U.S. government should not hesitate to use its expanded anti-terrorism powers to monitor and surveill all Islamic Clerics who support Muslim extremists. Any non-citizens residing in this country should not be exempt from the full power of the law aimed at thwarting future terrorist strikes, including tribunal hearings and immediate summary executions following conviction of terrorist actions. And the U.S. government should not hesitate to press upon foreign governments to put the same effort to bear on such clerics operating in foreign countries. Furthermore, where such cooperation is not forthcoming, we should take direct action ourselves to eliminate these overt threats.

Robert G. Williscroft is DefenseWatch Navy Editor.

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ARTICLE 03 – Balkans Stability Remains an Illusion

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By J. David Galland

The International War Crimes Tribunal gloats over its latest quarry, former Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milosevic, who has finally been indicted for the crime of genocide and just about every crime except playing hooky from school. However, at the same time the endemic pattern of ethnic violence in the Balkans has entrenched itself for another cold winter of discontent.

Which of the former provinces of what was once Yugoslavia remains is in the forefront? It is still Macedonia. You remember Macedonia, don't you? Allow me to jog your memory a bit from this past August: peace, cease-fire, disarmament and mutual respect for differing ethnic groups, just to mention a few key points.

I am sure the reader can reflect on the lackluster signing of the Ohrid Peace Agreement only three months ago. As well, one can recall many of the critical provisions of the agreement that aimed to save Macedonia from abysmal lawlessness. Perhaps you remember that under its provisions, hostilities would come to a rapid stop and a cease-fire would ensue, NATO troops would come in for 30 days, and 30 days only, with the Albanian rebels then turning in their weapons. Next, Albanian citizens of Macedonia, largely in the Presevo Valley, would then be treated equally and be given more rights by the Macedonian-dominated parliament.

What has Macedonia, as a country, or as I predicted last July, a NATO protectorate, accomplished? Not much! Since the marionette strings were pulled taunt on the hapless President Boris Trakjovski, whom NATO and the West bought out for a song, things haven't changed much. That is, if any of the current reports, news stories and tales of terror that emerge into the world media are correct.

Only days ago, heavily armed rebels, believed to be the well rested remnants of the Albanian National Liberation Army (known by its Albanian acronym, UCK), took as many as 70 people hostage in the Macedonian village of Semsovo, which is a few kilometers northeast of Tetovo. A few hours before this latest challenge to rural tranquility, a group of about a dozen people, were abducted on a main road in the area. One of the unfortunate ones was Zlate Todorovski, the director of the Macedonian language television station in Tetovo.

Local police officials, speaking on terms of anonymity, insisted that the perpetrators were not former UCK members. Even the former UCK commander in the area, readily available for comment and denial, assured Western sources that this was not the work of the now, disbanded rebel group.

These abductions brought an immediate response from the NATO-backed police forces. Scores of police in armored personnel carriers streamed into the area around Tetovo, which is viewed, locally, as additional provocation. Resistance to the advancing constabulary was swift on the part of the, "not former rebels". Between Semsovo and Trebos, northwest of Tetovo, a police convoy was ambushed and three policemen were killed, leaving numerous others wounded. The following day, a running gun battle ensued between Macedonian Police and suspected ethnic Albanian rebels near the village of Preljubiste.

On the Sunday following these events, a powerful explosion rocked another city in northwestern Macedonia, further shattering the fractious peace that NATO, thinks, is prevailing. A spokesman for the new Albanian National Army was quick to take credit for causing the explosion and promised more similar actions during the next week. Clearly, these incidents and the escalation or violence can be viewed as a response to the political foot-dragging by Macedonian leaders in Skopje, on the promised issues of Albanian autonomy and equality within Macedonia.

Two weeks ago, before cozying up to the Russians in Moscow, the ever confident and self-serving NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson, while visiting Slovenia, stated that he believed the situation to be stabilized and he urged all involved to show restraint. These would be my recommendations too, but I am not naïve enough to believe such tolerance and bliss between the ethnic factions will prevail. Robertson's declaration followed an apparently illuminating conversation with President Trakjovski and German Brig. Gen. Heinz-Georg Keerl, the NATO Commander in Macedonia.

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, the world has largely turned its collective focus to issues other than Macedonia, particularly the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

At the same time, Macedonia still simmers with violence waiting to explode. Ant the Balkans continues its ever-familiar downward spiral of violence and hatred, still quite capable of ensnaring the United States and its allies in yet another bloodbath.

J. David Galland, Deputy Editor of DefenseWatch, is the pen name of a career U.S. Army senior Non-Commissioned Officer currently serving in Germany.

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ARTICLE 04 – Feedback: Readers Respond to Hack’s Columns

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Clinton Destroyed the Armed Forces

I am retired Army master sergeant with 33 years of service including six years with Special Forces. I really enjoyed David Hackworth’s informed comments regarding “De-Clintonizing” our armed forces (“It’s Time to Set the U.S. Army Straight,” Nov. 21).

I had served every Commander-in-Chief since President Lyndon Johnson. I felt outrage about the changes to the Army brought about by President Bill Clinton. I retired in 1997 – I could have been boarded for sergeant major and stuck around for a few more years, but the grief I experienced over what that man did to my Army made me cynical and angry.

Clinton used our armed forces to implement his sick programs regarding gays and other useless social experiments. He destroyed an effective Reserve and Guard force by reducing the numbers of good units to dangerous levels and, in many cases, changing their mission. He relegated the status of American fighting men to second-class citizens in terms of pay, housing and benefits. He took away our sense of pride in serving with useless guidelines on political correctness.

-- John G. Saittis

New Army Leadership Needed

In response to David Hackworth’s column, one of the first things I would do as president would be to fire [Army Chief of Staff] Gen. [Eric] Shinseki. He singlehandedly demoralized every Ranger, and every other right-thinking soldier, with his beret decision.

He is also the premier “perfumed prince” who is able to harm our entire Army by promoting fellow “perfumed princes.” It only takes a few well-placed “princes” to undo all the good done by good soldiers. The last eight years is an excellent example: I recently watched a special on the Discovery Channel about the Rangers. It stated that the Rangers were the only U.S. Army troops taught hand-to-hand combat.

If they did not already know it, we just told all potential enemies our troops are not fighters. As a matter of fact, if today's soldier gets in an old-fashioned fistfight he may be discharged as a disciplinary problem. Maybe I am off the mark, but I think the Army should bring back the “Spirit of the Bayonet,” and hand-to-hand combat training for all soldiers. These programs would not only be an addition to unit PT programs, but designed to enhance the “warrior spirit.”

-- William F. Sauerwein, First Sgt. USA (Ret.)

An Army Plagued with Mistrust

I read with interest David Hackworth’s column in the DefenseWatch archives on current leaders unwilling to allow soldiers to load ammo (“Let’s Lock and Load Now,” Oct. 17). On Sept. 11, U.S. posts went on Threatcon Delta expecting terrorist attacks. My post is shared by conventional Army and Special Forces units.

Guards were ordered to draw weapons, but only the guards from the SF unit
actually had combat loads of ammo. When the post commander found out troops were packing, he ordered magazines to be kept at SOG’s post. This is another example of the ‘CYA’ mentality in the conventional Army.

Officers don’t trust NCOs – much less soldiers – to soldier. Also, weapons training from fixed foxholes at pop-up targets is unrealistic. The average soldier (non-combat arms) will fire 114 live rounds a year during semi-annual weapons qualification. Actual fire on the move training, walking with loaded guns, isn’t conducted. Soldiers are uncomfortable with weapons since they aren’t trained enough.

-- A Concerned Sgt. 1^st Class USA

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ARTICLE 5 – Editorial Comment: Shabby Treatment Of Navy Hero

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Editor’s Note: The following editorial appeared on the editorial page of The Washington Times on November 25, 2001.

Just when you thought bureaucratic stupidity and robotic adherence to “the rules” couldn't possibly get any more ludicrous, the rude awakening cometh. Two days

before Thanksgiving, The Washington Times reported that the Navy has denied a pension to the widow of Lt. John Russell, who helped rescue the USS Cole in

Yemen last October after Osama bin Laden's thugs did their dirty work.

Lt. Russell, age 41, suffered a fatal heart attack while helping another Naval officer trim trees in a Jacksonville, Fla., back yard on Nov. 11. Three days later - on the

afternoon of his wake - Lt. Russell's widow, Mary, was told that she would not be receiving his lifetime pension of approximately $1,500 a month. “It makes me

very angry,” said Mrs. Russell, who is now left alone to raise the couple's 10- and 14-year-old boys. “He gave up his youth for the Navy. And I sacrificed a lot

waiting for him to come home.”

Lt. Russell, a 20-year Navy veteran, enlisted on Aug. 14, 1981, under an arrangement permitting him to report for duty on Dec. 14 of that year, which is considered the official start of his service. This means that at the time of his death, he was a mere 33 days short of qualifying for his Navy pension.

Late last year, he was on the USS Tarawa in the Arabian Sea when a bin Laden suicide attack was staged against the USS Cole, which was moored in the Yemeni

port of Aden. Seventeen American sailors perished in that attack. Upon arriving at the scene, Lt. Russell commandeered a Yemeni tugboat and maneuvered it over

to the crippled Cole. As Islamic radicals jeered at him from the nearby shore, Lt. Russell maneuvered the ship to safety.

His former commanding officer, Capt. Mike Miller, now works for President Bush in the White House. When he learned of the pension problem, Capt. Miller started making phone calls to all the appropriate folks in the Navy bureaucracy. Time and time again, he has been told that nothing can be done for Lt. Russell's widow and their two children. Meanwhile, Lt. Richard Tucker, the “benefits coordinator” assigned to the Russell family case, is working furiously to assemble a package of benefits from the Veterans Administration and the Social Security Administration.

But there is absolutely no other way to put it: The treatment visited upon Mrs. Russell and her sons is nothing less than shabby, disgraceful and outrageous. Lt.

Russell was and is an authentic hero who put his life on the line for his fellow sailors and his country. It's time for Mr. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

to take immediate action to ensure that the Russell family gets the full amount of his pension.

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ARTICLE 06 – Feedback: Let’s Bring Back the Draft

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I was drafted into the Army in 1954. Combat training was the hardest work I have ever done before or since. I weighed 135 lbs. when drafted, and 152
lbs. of bone and muscle two months later. I don't believe very many women
could have did what I did and I am not a large or especially strong man.

I firmly believe that the draft ( for men) would be good for the national good. I would not have enlisted, but after being drafted I was ready to do my duty. I would have done anything the country needed me for. I believe young men would have a greater appreciation of what it means to serve.

Other services benefit indirectly from the draft. One young man that I knew opened his mailbox and found a draft notice. He closed the box, went down and joined the Air Force. I opened my mailbox and was drafted shortly thereafter. I was home in two years, while he was gone for four years.

-- Lloyd Markell

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ARTICLE 07 – Ambush in Afghanistan

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Editor’s Note: This is probably a true story.

A large group of Taliban soldiers are moving down a road when they hear a voice call from behind a sand dune. “One U.S. Special Forces soldier is better than ten Taliban.”

The Taliban commander quickly sends 10 of his best soldiers over the dune whereupon a gun battle breaks and continues for a few minutes, then silence.

The voice then calls out “One U.S. Special Forces soldier is better than one hundred Taliban.”

Furious, the Taliban commander sends his next best 100 troops over the dune and instantly a huge gunfight commences. After 10 minutes of battle, again silence.

The American voice calls out again “One U.S. Special Forces soldier is better than one thousand Taliban.”

The enraged Taliban Commander musters one thousand fighters and sends them across the dune. Cannons, rockets and machine-guns ring out as a huge battle is fought. Then silence.

Eventually one wounded Taliban fighter crawls back over the dune and with his dying words tells his commander, “Don't send any more men, it's a trap. There's actually two of them.”

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ARTICLE 08 – Medal of Honor Recipient – ASHLEY, EUGENE, JR. SFC USA

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Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Company C, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces.

Place and date: Near Lang Vei, Republic of Vietnam, 6th and 7th February 1968.

Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Born: 12 October 1931, Wilmington, N.C.

Citation: Sfc. Ashley, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with Detachment A-101, Company C. Sfc. Ashley was the senior special forces advisor of a hastily organized assault force whose mission was to rescue entrapped U.S. special forces advisors at Camp Lang Vei.

During the initial attack on the special forces camp by North Vietnamese army forces, Sfc. Ashley supported the camp with high explosive and illumination mortar rounds. When communications were lost with the main camp, he assumed the additional responsibility of directing air strikes and artillery support.

Sfc. Ashley organized and equipped a small assault force composed of local friendly personnel. During the ensuing battle, Sfc. Ashley led a total of five vigorous assaults against the enemy, continuously exposing himself to a voluminous hail of enemy grenades, machine gun and automatic weapons fire. Throughout these assaults, he was plagued by numerous booby-trapped satchel charges in all bunkers on his avenue of approach. During his fifth and final assault, he adjusted air strikes nearly on top of his assault element, forcing the enemy to withdraw and resulting in friendly control of the summit of the hill. While exposing himself to intense enemy fire, he was seriously wounded by machine gun fire but continued his mission without regard for his personal safety. After the fifth assault he lost consciousness and was carried from the summit by his comrades only to suffer a fatal wound when an enemy artillery round landed in the area.

Sfc. Ashley displayed extraordinary heroism in risking his life in an attempt to save the lives of his entrapped comrades and commanding officer. His total disregard for his personal safety while exposed to enemy observation and automatic weapons fire was an inspiration to all men committed to the assault. The resolute valor with which he led five gallant charges placed critical diversionary pressure on the attacking enemy and his valiant efforts carved a channel in the overpowering enemy forces and weapons positions through which the survivors of Camp Lang Vei eventually escaped to freedom.

Sfc. Ashley's bravery at the cost of his life was in the highest traditions of the military service, and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Editor’s Note: If you know of any MOH recipient who is hospitalized or has passed away recently, please email MOH Correspondent James H. Also, if you would like more info on MOH recipients and their stories, please email James H at bulldogleader@mindspring.com.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Your Support is Important!
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Footnote: The ultimate success in reviving and expanding SFTT depends on everyone. We need your financial contributions to continue our operation. While any amount is welcome, we suggest a $30 annual contribution from each member will enable us to succeed.

The IRS recognizes SFTT as a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Educational Foundation (IRS EIN 31-1592564).

Donations are tax deductible. Send us some moral support and encouragement
to help in the struggle to improve combat readiness. Every little
contribution helps. Mail your checks to:

Soldiers For The Truth Foundation

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Article Submission Procedures/Subject Editors Sought
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1. Try to keep articles to 750 words or less. SUBMIT IN MS WORD FORMAT, if possible!

2. Submit your piece to one of the following editors:

Ed Offley, Editor

defensewatch@aol.com

J. David Galland, Deputy Editor

defensewatch02@hotmail.com

DefenseWatch is looking for volunteer subject editors willing to assist in screening and editing article submissions. We are looking for experts in the following areas: U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, Special Operations forces/counter-terrorism, weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and veterans affairs. If interested in joining the DefenseWatch team, please contact Ed Offley at defensewatch@aol.com.

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GLOSSARY OF MILITARY ACRONYMS:
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We've had numerous requests from troops in different branches of the
military to establish this link so that we will all know how "all you
others" talk that talk. The DoD site is not working but the nonprofit Federation of American Scientists has an excellent online acronym roster. Please see below:

http://www.fas.org/news/reference/lexicon/acronym.htm

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HACK BOOK SALES

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Hack's books, About Face, Hazardous Duty, The Price of Honor and The
Vietnam Primer can be found at www.hackworth.com. They make a great addition
to any library. Hack is offering them at a special SFTT price.

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