There was a time when we fought wars. Then it was peacekeeping operations. Now our people are deployed all over the world in wars that supposedly ended long ago. Like Iraq. And they're there just to advise the locals, then conduct raids, bomb, etc.. The need in many cases is legitimate, but the American people should be told the truth. And Obama's aversion to discussing military deployments for what they are is disrespectful to the men and women who are taking fire and in some cases dying, and to the country as a whole.
Obama is increasingly calling upon Special Operations forces to carry out so-called "small wars" across the Middle East and Africa to challenge both ISIS and al Qaeda in places where the U.S. maintains a footprint beyond Syria and Iraq...
That complexity is leading the Obama administration to expand the use of small teams of Special Operators in various terror hotspots...
That explains why -- although much of the U.S. response is clearly focused on Iraq and Syria -- Special Ops forces are being asked to prevent both ISIS and al Qaeda from gaining a stronger foothold in places like Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The military characterizes many of the operations as "advising and assisting" local forces with intelligence and overhead surveillance to help identify targets. But in reality there are also many instances of the U.S. conducting direct attack operations on terror targets.
And yes, we once again, have small teams around Benghazi. Hopefully this time they'll have actual support if/when they come under fire.
The insertion of a tiny group of U.S. personnel into a country rife with militant threats reflects the Obama administration’s worries about the Islamic State’s powerful Libyan branch and the widespread expectations of an expanded campaign against it. For months, the Pentagon has been developing plans for potential action against the group, which has at least several thousand fighters in the coastal city of Sirte and other areas. And the U.S. personnel, whose ongoing presence had not been previously reported, is a sign of the acceleration toward another military campaign in Libya.
But of course Obama isn't going to call it a military campaign or even admit that US personnel are fighting until casualties come in. And even then there will be yet more denials.
Partly this is how Benghazi happened. The administration loves its covert wars because they seem really exciting and Obama can avoid being openly associated with the military that he dislikes. It likes sneakers on the ground instead of boots on the ground. It likes drones and small teams. It doesn't like admitting the simple fact that entering another country and shooting people is not an "advisory" position. It's a war.