What Al Qaeda Has Learned So Far
- October 10, 2002
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Glenn at InstaPundit links to an interesting post about some things Al Qaeda fighters have learned about American and other Western troops. I was particularly interested in the following bit from the article:
Al Qaeda who had fought the Russians also discovered that shooting officers first doesn’t stop American troops. Russian units are very dependent on their officers for combat leadership, as Russia has not had decent NCOs for nearly a century. Al Qaeda now tend to regard all American combat troops as they did the Russian Spetsnaz commandos. But al Qaeda also noted the differences between regular army infantry and commandos. The regulars carry too much equipment and move more slowly. The Special Forces, SEALs and Delta Force travel light, and often look like Afghans. But the commandos are much better with their weapons and use superior small unit tactics. Al Qaeda will avoid commandos, and not play with regulars for too long. That’s because al Qaeda has also learned to fear the AC-130 “Spitting Witches” (as they call the gunships), which tend to show up if the American infantry are having a hard time of it.
Read the rest of the post too. It’s very interesting. There are also many other interesting posts on the site.