WAR: Pentagon Mulls Forming Death Squads To Target Insurgency Leaders, page 1

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 04:45 AM

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The Pentagon is mulling over forming hit squads to target leaders of the Iraqi insurgency. Dubbed the Salvador option, the plan would have special forces train and develop death squads to target Sunni insurgents and sympathizers. The squads may be made of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Shiite militiamen and could potentially even strike in other countries.

New York Daily News
The Pentagon is reportedly debating whether to set up elite hit squads to target leaders of Iraq's stubborn insurgency in a strategy copied from tactics used against leftist guerrillas in Central America 20 years ago.
The plan, dubbed the the "Salvador option," would have U.S. Special Forces teams advise, support and possibly train Iraqi death squads to target Sunni insurgents and sympathizers, Newsweek said on its Web site yesterday.

The teams could be made up of renowned Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Shiite militiamen, military insiders said.

The squads could even operate across the border in Syria, where Iraqi and U.S. officials say the insurgency draws support and fighters. It was unclear whether they would assassinate leaders or run "snatch" operations, the magazine said.

"What everyone agrees is that we can't just go on as we are," one senior military officer said.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

You have to wonder where the historians are? Did we not learn from the death squad experience in South America. I agree that they have to knock off the leaders and quell the insurgency, but I do not think roving death squads are the way to go. This has disaster written all over it. But no doubt Wolfowitz will approve this if he has not already.

[edit on 1/9/05 by FredT]

[edit on 1/9/05 by FredT]

AceOfBase

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 05:39 AM

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Originally posted by FredT
You have to wonder where the historians are? Did we not learn from the death squad experience in South America. I agree that they have to knock off the leaders and quell the insurgency, but I do not think roving death squads are the way to go. This has disaster written all over it. But no doubt Wolfowitz will approve this if he has not already.

This could turn out extremely bad.
I don't think Wolfowitz et al ever picked up a history book or read reports on past operations.

I remember the South American leaders thought the death squads were a good option and decided to extend those squads to the US during Operation Condor.

The Iraqis, if they are taught that this is an acceptable way of taking care of problems, may also think this is a good option and could eventually extend it to other countries including the US.

[edit on 9-1-2005 by AceOfBase]

Thomas Crowne

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 05:45 AM

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Back in the old day that was called warfare. Nowadays they have a new name for it? Ha!
Hey, let's just bring the boys home and give the major cities to the whiners and liberal peaceniks. Most of us normal folks won't be in the target areas anyway, and it shouldn't be too hard to relocate the sane folks of the metropolitan areas!

FredT

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 05:46 AM

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The other correlation is Operation Pheonix in Vietnam. These types of operation may have near term sucsess but long term they don't seem to work out.

djohnsto77

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 05:50 AM

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The Pentagon is mulling over forming hit squads to target leaders of the Iraqi insurgency. Dubbed the Salvador option, the plan would have special forces train and develop death squads to target Sunni insurgents and sympathizers

Sounds like a great idea to me! Kill zem! Kill zem all!

xpert11

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 05:58 AM

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Seems like a good idea to me the pentagon is starting to realize that differnt tactics and ideas are needed if the insurgents are to be defeated. The SAS should also help to train the Iraqis to blend in for intel work ( finding the leaders before killing them) With all do respect the american ground troops need lessons from the brits and aussies on winning hearts and minds of the population.
Wipe out the insurgency from top to bottom. Even if a leader of the insurgency isnt assassinate straight away it would play on his/her mind that the squads could come at any time. There is no better way to kill the insurgency then use there own tactics against them and turn the local population against them.

sanctum

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 06:02 AM

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This is not a good idea. The west are trying to enforce democracy on a tribal society, and are also implying that 'death squads' are needed to enforce this proposed democracy.

Democracy Saddam style. I think the Pentagon are desperate for an 'exit plan'.

Sanc'.

Janus

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 06:04 AM

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The British SAS has some "expertise" in this area from Northern Ireland. Numerous Ops were carried out using SAS-MI5 handled Hit Squads using Protestant terror groups to do the deed.
This was of course denied by the Government but the thats the beauty of it, plausible deniability.
The only way to defeat Terrorism is to fight fire with fire.

AceOfBase

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 06:13 AM

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This wouldn't be the first time they used Iraqis to kill people they felt were undesirable:

www.serendipity.li...
Iraq, 1963. CIA supplied lists of communists to Baath party group that led coup so that communists could be rounded up and eliminated. Cockburn, A. and Cockburn, L. (1991). Dangerous Liaison, p. 130

Look at how well that worked out.
The Baath party did such a good job in Iraq.
I'm sure the people who carry out these new attacks will be just as concerned with human rights as they were.

xpert11

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 06:13 AM

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The Iraqis should train in the outback giving the Iraqis training from the aussie SAS and American special forces then we will see who messes with the newly created special forces branch of the Iraqi army!

Forgot to add in last post that the sercuity screening needs to be improved to insure that the insurgents dont infiltrate the squads. There also needs to be a training ground outside of Iraq but not in the outback to help with sercuity clearance and ensure the troops are up to standard before they enter special forces training.

FredT

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 06:19 AM

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Originally posted by AceOfBase
This wouldn't be the first time they used Iraqis to kill people they felt were undesirable:

Good find Ace

Yes, these things by and large have not worked historicaly. And you often find you create a animal that you cannot controll

jsobecky

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 08:36 AM

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Using these death squads would have the advantage of putting the coalition on the offensive against the insurgency. We all know that the current methods being employed, being re-active instead of pro-active, hasn't worked at all.

Sorry if this obvious point has already been posted. I just woke up.

FredT

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 08:37 AM

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The inherent problem is that these squads often work short term and then they have a tendancy to go rouge or off the reservtion as it were and become a problem unto thier own.

Britguy

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 08:51 AM

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You'd think they'd have learned a lesson. Armed, trained and funded Islamic hardliners to fight the Russians. Now proposing to arm, train and fund another group to go after the previous group.... round and around we go

I expect those making these plans to have already drawn up their "get of jail free" cards in case this goes belly-up at some point and have liberally applied the teflon coating to their expensive suits.

dixon

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 08:56 AM

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Things cannot go on as they are. That's so so right. Death squads ? Well sounds like an idea. But what is so stupid about it is that now the entire world knows about what they are thinking of and they now need robocop to lead this squad.

Sauron

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 09:35 AM

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What a load of rubbish if they are thinking of forming death squads, as AceOfBase points out in his post it wouldn�t be the first time. Has anyone ever heard of Task Force 121?

TF121 primary mission is,
the apprehension of "High Value Targets" or HVTs. These are key figures in organizations that the "War on Terror" is currently being waged against.

The most obvious HVTs are Osama bin Laden and other senior leaders of Al Qaeda, Mulla Omar and other senior leaders of the Taliban and high ranking officials of the former Iraqi Regime (which until recently included Saddam Hussein and his sons Uday and Qusay).

TF121 is a combination of the now defunct Task Force 5 and Task Force 20, which operated in Afghanistan and Iraq respectively. Apparently, General John Abizaid, commander of all US forces in the Middle East concluded it was wasteful to maintain two complete teams and their associated support structure simultaneously and decided to combine both teams into a single streamlined force.

Link

[edit on 9/1/2005 by Sauron]

FLYIN HIGH

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 10:42 AM

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I think this is a good idea in theory but I have a bad feeling about it. What if another govt. that is not in good standing with the U.S. sent their own death squads here to off Bush and his cronies? Granted we should have taken out the rebel leaders while in the early stages of this war on terror. Our govt. should have planned for this outcome but nooooo..Rummy and his gang of other pro Hawks never gave it a thought. The proof is this; We would not have the problem now. The Pentagon should have planned in advance a solution to deal with Syria and their closeness with Iraq. We are now behind the 8 ball and trying to play catchup in the war. Now if we had given the civil pouplation of Bagdad 72hrs. to leave and then vaporized the city, that would have given us a stronger hold on our mission there to begin with. This is this generations Vietnam.

FredT

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 12:13 PM

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Sauron,

There is a big difference between aprehending and gunning down. WHile I still maintain that it is a bad idea, one recent example shows that it can work. Los Pepis (sp?) which actiivly hunted Pablo Escobar worked rather well. However, it had CIA op written all over it and they were no doubt fed information from the CIA Center Spike Elint operation.

Nygdan

posted on Jan, 9 2005 @ 12:28 PM

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Originally posted by sanctum
This is not a good idea. The west are trying to enforce democracy on a tribal society, and are also implying that 'death squads' are needed to enforce this proposed democracy.

To kill and stop savage decapitating insurgents, not to enforce tax collection or zoning laws.

Why wouldn't democracy work in a tribal society?

xpert11

posted on Jan, 10 2005 @ 12:54 AM

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Originally posted by FredT
The inherent problem is that these squads often work short term and then they have a tendancy to go rouge or off the reservtion as it were and become a problem unto thier own.

That would happen if you didnt give the squads enough training and rushed them into action for political reasons. I suspect this could happen and only make the situation worse. However if the troops were given the training (see my above post) the insurgents wouldnt stand a chance.