[74], In 1979, the U.S.-backed Anastasio Somoza Debayle dictatorship in Nicaragua fell to the socialist Sandinistas. The first real SF group was the First Special Service Force A.K.A the Devil's Brigade which was a coalition force under the US Fifth Army who worked with the OSS and operated behind German lines. [235][236] In response, the Obama administration sent in SAC paramilitary operatives to assess the situation and gather information on the opposition forces. They were joined by Che Guevara in the mid-1960s. officials. [275] Per senior intelligence officers, this program was an attempt to avoid the civilian casualties that can occur during Predator drone strikes using Hellfire missiles. [188], Airstrikes from CIA drones struck targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan on September 8, 2009. [20] Four members of the SAD/SOG team received CIA's rare Intelligence Star for "extraordinary heroism". [49] These paramilitary teams were responsible for numerous maritime raids and ambushes behind North Korean lines, as well as prisoner of war rescue operations. Rodríguez, Félix and Weisman, John. Al-Raymi was the target of the January 29, 2017, special operations raid in which Navy SEAL Ryan Owens was killed. "The U.S. never forgets," Mulroy said. [191] The article also cites a Pakistani official who stated that about 80 missile attacks in less than two years have killed "more than 400" enemy fighters, a number lower than most estimates but in the same range. These teams selected and then trained Tibetan soldiers in the Rocky Mountains of the United States;[44] training occurred at Camp Hale. Although the CIA in general, and a Texas congressman named Charlie Wilson in particular, have received most of the attention, the key architect of this strategy was Michael G. Vickers. The operation in the Bilal military cantonment area in the city of Abbottabad resulted in the acquisition of extensive intelligence on the future attack plans of al-Qaeda. The Bay of Pigs Invasion (known as "La Batalla de Girón," or "Playa Girón" in Cuba) was an unsuccessful attempt by a U.S.-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba and overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. In all such propaganda efforts, "black" operations denote those in which the audience is to be kept ignorant of the source; "white" efforts are those in which the originator openly acknowledges themselves, and "gray" operations are those in which the source is partly but not fully acknowledged. SAD also recruits from within the Agency. [110], In December 2001, Special Activities Division and the Army's Delta Force tracked down Osama bin Laden in the rugged mountains near the Khyber Pass in Afghanistan. These attacks have produced the broadest, deepest, and most rapid reduction in al-Qaida senior leadership that we've seen in several years. William F. Buckley, Jr. (January 26, 2007), Tad Szulc, Compulsive Spy: The Strange Career of E. Howard Hunt (New York: Viking, 1974), Vidal, Gore. [28] These findings are then monitored by the oversight committees in both the U.S. Senate, called the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) and the U.S. House of Representatives, called the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). [119][121], General McChrystal's strategy included the lash up of special operations forces from the U.S. Military and from SAC/SOG to duplicate the initial success and the defeat of the Taliban in 2001[122] and the success of the "Surge" in Iraq in 2007. The Special Activities Center (SAC) is a division of the Central Intelligence Agency responsible for covert operations and paramilitary operations. [130], In January 2013, a CIA drone strike killed Mullah Nazir, a senior Taliban commander in the South Waziristan area of Pakistan believed responsible for carrying out the insurgent effort against the U.S. military in Afghanistan. These activities included maritime operations behind North Korean lines. Ground Branch is a part of the CIA’s Special Activities Division, which also includes Air Branch and Maritime Branch. The VC also imposed quotas. [10], Under U.S. law, the CIA is authorized to collect intelligence, conduct counterintelligence, and to conduct covert action by the National Security Act of 1947. They were all recruited from the famous smokejumpers from Montana. [223], In the early 1950s, the Central Intelligence Agency and Britain's Secret Intelligence Service were ordered to overthrow the government of Iran, Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq, and re-install deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. SAD teams then combined with U.S. Army special forces (on a team called the Northern Iraq Liaison Element or NILE). He was also a lawyer and former classmate of FDR at Columbia Law School. [202], From July to December 2010, predator strikes killed 535 suspected militants in the FATA to include Sheikh Fateh Al Misri, Al-Qaeda's new third in command on September 25. Paramilitary operations officers often attend the Clandestine Service Trainee (CST) program, which trains them as clandestine intelligence operatives and an internal paramilitary training course. The OSS was responsible for training German and Austrian commandos for missions inside Nazi Germany. The combination of SAC and USSOCOM units has resulted in some of the more prominent actions of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the locating and killing of Osama bin Laden. The CIA's efforts have been given credit for assisting in ending the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan and bringing the Taliban to power. "The Finding was focused on undermining Iran's nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change," a person familiar with its contents said, and involved "working with opposition groups and passing money. [149] This battle was for an entire territory that was completely occupied by Ansar al-Islam and was executed prior to the invasion in February 2003. These officers often operate in remote locations behind enemy lines to carry out direct action (including raids and sabotage), counter-intelligence, guerrilla/unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism, and hostage rescue missions, in addition to being able to conduct espionage via HUMINT assets. [127], This covert war also includes a large SOG/CTPT expansion into Pakistan to target senior al-Qaeda and Taliban leadership in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA). These include: Abu Zubaydah,[266] the chief of operations for al-Qaeda; Ramzi bin al-Shibh,[267] the so-called "20th hijacker";[268] Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.;[269] Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, alleged to be the mastermind of the USS Cole bombing and leader of al Qaeda operations in the Persian Gulf prior to his capture in November 2002;[270] Abu Faraj al-Libi, al Qaeda's "field general" believed to have taken the role of No. Many of the military members of MAC-V SOG joined the CIA after their military service. 1 guy in Pakistan," adds Mahmood Shah, a retired Pakistani Army brigadier and a former chief of the Federally Administered Tribal Area, or FATA, Mehsud's base. But by late 2015, the Russians came to Assad's aid, and their focus was focusing squarely on the C.I.A.-backed fighters battling Syrian government troops. [116] In December 2009, The New York Times reported that President Obama ordered an expansion of the drone program with senior officials describing the program as "a resounding success, eliminating key terrorists and throwing their operations into disarray". In 1962, the paramilitary operations of the CIA centralized in the Special Operations Division (SOD), the predecessor of SAC. [87][88] JSOC and the CIA had been trying to kill Nabhan for some time including back in January 2007, when an AC-130 Gunship was called in on one attempt. During that time, one of the teams was approached in a village and asked by a young man for help in retrieving his teenage sister. The group, which recently was reorganized, has had about 200 officers, divided among several groups: the Special Operations Group; the Foreign Training Group, which … [157][158] In a CBS 60 Minutes interview, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward described a new special operations capability that allowed for this success. Many current and former officials believed finding a way for the CIA and its paramilitary forces to continue to work with a new Afghan government was critical to the long-term survival of the deal and the counter-terrorism efforts in the region. $175.99 $ 175. [261][262], In 1967, the SAD was involved with the CIA's domestic espionage operation Project MERRIMAC in conjunction with the Office of Security. Reports stated that seven to ten militants were killed to include one top al-Qaida leader. [103], They provided the Northern Alliance with resources including millions of dollars in cash to buy weapons and pay local fighters and prepared for the arrival of USSOCOM forces. SAC/SOG has far fewer members than most of the other special missions units, such as the U.S. Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force) or Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU). They were David W. Bevan, Darrell A. Eubanks, and John S. Lewis, all young men, killed on a mission to resupply anti-Communist forces in Laos. [6] The group often recuits personnel from the U.S. Special Operations community. [27][205][206] The helicopter raid was executed from a CIA forward operating base in Afghanistan by the elements of the U.S. Die SAD ist dem Directorate of Operations der CIA, dem ehemaligen National Clandestine Service, unterstellt.Sie wurde 1995 von Brigadegeneral William G. Boykin gegründet, dem ehemaligen Kommandeur der Delta Force, einer US Army-Spezialeinheit für Antiterrorkampf und verdeckte Operationen, als dieser zur CIA wechselte und die Leitung der neuen Einheit übernahm. "[114] At Bin Laden's abandoned encampment, the team uncovered evidence that bin Laden's ultimate aim was to obtain and detonate a nuclear device in the United States. Rather, it involves secretly moving in and out of countries like Iran, Somalia, etc., where the American military is not legally allowed to operate. [97][98][99], During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, Paramilitary Operations Officers were instrumental in equipping Mujaheddin forces against the Soviet Army. [150] Sargat was also the only facility that had traces of chemical weapons discovered in the Iraq war.[21][151][153]. He ranked second to Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban's founder and was known to be a close associate of Osama bin Laden. Special Activities Center has several hundred officers, mostly former members of special operations forces (SOF) to include Navy SEALS, Recon Marines, MARSOC operators, Army Special Forces, Delta Force operators and Army Rangers. [225][226] The senior CIA officer was Kermit Roosevelt, Jr., the grandson of American president Theodore Roosevelt. 2007. Even during World War II, the idea of intelligence and special operations units not under strict military control was controversial. Commander In Afghanistan To Be Tested", "Legendary Marine Maj. Zembiec, the 'Lion of Fallujah,' died in the service of the CIA", "Comrades Speak of Fallen Marine and Ties That Bind", "US choppers attack Syrian village near Iraq border", "Syria: U.S. The other elite military groups are more properly referred to as "special operations forces," or "special ops." He’s deployed dozens of times around the world on their behalf, and he even assessed and trained those who were … [252], However, with the rise of the Islamic State, SAC was given the overall command and control of the ground fight against them. [257], On October 26, 2019, U.S. Joint Special Operations Command's (JSOC) Delta Force conducted a raid into the Idlib province of Syria on the border with Turkey that resulted in the death of Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai also known as Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi. [232] and in July 2010, Director Panetta chose a former chief of SAC as the new NCS Director. Moreover, CIA recruits many of its paramilitary operatives directly from U.S. Special Operations Command, thanks largely to the previously discussed and … [287] HALO is a method of delivering personnel, equipment, and supplies from a transport aircraft at a high altitude via free-fall parachute insertion. The CIA's Secret War in Tibet, Kenneth Conboy, James Morrison, The University Press of Kansas, 2002. It resulted in the deaths of a substantial number of militants and the uncovering of a crude laboratory that had traces of poisons and information on chemical weapons at Sargat. He explained that a senior Taliban official had taken her as a wife and had sharply restricted the time she could spend with her family. The number of strikes in 2009 exceeded the 2008 total, according to data compiled by the Long War Journal, which tracks strikes in Pakistan. His account of collateral damage was strikingly lower than many unofficial counts: "We believe the number of civilian casualties is just over 20, and those were people who were either at the side of major terrorists or were at facilities used by terrorists. Yong Do Island, connected by a rugged isthmus to Pusan, served as the base for those operations. Once on the ground, they prepared the battlespace for the subsequent arrival of U.S. military forces. [111] Former CIA station chief Gary Berntsen, as well as a subsequent Senate investigation, claimed that the combined American special operations task force was largely outnumbered by al-Qaeda forces and that they were denied additional U.S. troops by higher command. These operations were covered in detail in the 1998 book Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage. [143] A major target of these operations was Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen with ties to both Nidal Hasan, the convicted Fort Hood attacker, and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Christmas 2009 attempted bomber of Northwest Airline flight 253. According to a witness, at least two AH-6 Little Bird attack helicopters strafed a two-car convoy. [39][40] In addition to the eighteen months of training in the Clandestine Service Trainee (CST) program[41] required to become a clandestine intelligence officer, paramilitary operations officers are trained to a high level of proficiency in: While the World War II Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was technically a military agency under the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in practice, it was fairly autonomous and enjoyed direct access to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The paramilitary component included training anti-Communist guerrillas to fight the Tudeh Party if they seized power in the chaos of Operation Ajax. [136], On November 5, 2002, a missile launched from a CIA-controlled Predator drone killed al-Qaeda members traveling in a remote area in Yemen. [118], According to the current and former intelligence officials, General McChrystal also had his own preferred candidate for the Chief of Station (COS) job, a good friend and decorated CIA paramilitary officer. Mullah Abdul Salam, the Taliban's leader in Kunduz, and Mullah Mir Mohammed of Baghlan were captured in Akora Khattack. [115] The station is located at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and is led "by a veteran with an extensive background in paramilitary operations". HALO and HAHO (High Altitude-High Opening) are also known as Military Free Fall (MFF). & Tanner, Stephen. [245] The Syrian government called the event a "criminal and terrorist" attack on its sovereignty, alleging all of the reported eight fatalities were civilians. [20][152] The team found foreign identity cards, visas, and passports on the enemy bodies. It may interest you to know that many Special Forces soldiers don't like the nickname Green Beret. [58], The original OSS mission in Vietnam under Major Archimedes Patti was to work with Ho Chi Minh in order to prepare his forces to assist the United States and their Allies in fighting the Japanese. [175] A Pakistani security official stated that other strikes killed at least 10 insurgents, including five foreign nationals and possibly "a high-value target" such as a senior al-Qaeda or Taliban official. [286] Project COLDFEET was a very successful mission in 1962 in which two military officers parachuted into a remote abandoned Soviet site in the Arctic. It has also fueled the ambitions and anxieties of local and regional actors vying over the future shape of Syria. Navy SEALs then seized the body of Nabhan and took two other wounded fighters captive. This joint team combined in Operation Viking Hammer to defeat Ansar al-Islam, an Islamist group allied to al-Qaeda, which several battle-hardened fighters from Afghanistan had joined after the fall of the Taliban, in a battle for control over the northeast of Iraq – a battle that turned out being one of the "most intense battles of Special Forces since Vietnam." [242], The 2008 Abu Kamal raid was a helicopter-borne raid conducted by paramilitary officers from Special Activities Division[243] and United States Special Operations Command, Joint Special Operations Command[244] inside Syrian territory on October 26, 2008. [169] This is a testament to SAD being the preeminent force for unconventional warfare and their long-standing relationship with the most effective fighting force in the region, the Kurdish Peshmerga. According to the report, the four men were members of the CIA’s Maritime Branch, one of the three branches of the Special Operations Group, which works under the Special Activities Center. Operatives on the Ground in Libya", "Gates: No Ground Troops in Libya on His Watch", "Updated: Gates calls for limited role aiding Libyan rebels", "In Libya, CIA is gathering intelligence on rebels", "CIA led mystery Syria raid that killed terrorist leader", "US special forces launch rare attack inside of Syria", https://special-ops.org/cia-abu-kamal-raid-2008/, "PressTV-CIA men, US forces entered Syria: Report", "First Syria rebels armed and trained by CIA 'on way to battlefield, "Syria crisis: First CIA-trained rebel unit about to join fighting against Assad regime, says President Obama", "CIA overseeing supply of weapons to Syria rebels", "CIA ramping up covert training program for moderate Syrian rebels", "David Ignatius: Regional spymasters make tactical changes to bolster Syrian moderates", "In Syria, we finally may be fighting the way we should have in Iraq and Afghanistan", "ISIS leader killed in daring U.S. raid in Syria, Trump says", "Tip from disaffected militant set in motion operation that killed ISIS leader al-Baghdadi", "Inside a 9/11 Mastermind's Interrogation", "FBI, CIA Debate Significance of Terror Suspect", "Bin al-Shibh to go to third country for questioning", "Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar: Afghan Top Taliban Captured, Talking To Authorities", "Bush Has Widened Authority of C.I.A. [244][247], In 2011 during the Arab Spring, CIA paramilitary teams deployed to Syria to report on the uprising, to access the rebel groups, leadership and to potentially train, equip and lead one of those rebel groups against the Bashar al-Assad regime. After the Arab Spring movements overthrew the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt, its neighbors to the west and east respectively, Libya had a major revolt beginning in February 2011. [65] One former smokejumper and paramilitary officer, Mike Oehlerich, believed he should have been on that flight, but they accidentally missed their pickup to the airport. [116][118] There have been basically three options described in the media: McChrystal's increased counterinsurgency campaign; a counter-terror campaign using special operations raids and drone strikes; and withdrawal. It honors CIA employees who died in the line of duty. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Special Activities Division (SAD) Special Operations Group (SOG). [192][193] On December 31, 2009, senior Taliban leader and strong Haqqani ally Haji Omar Khan, brother of Arif Khan, was killed in the strike along with the son of local tribal leader Karim Khan. Ground Branch SAD Ground Branch operatives are experts in field cra… Some of these agents included exiled communists, socialist party members, labor activists, anti-Nazi POWs, and German and Jewish refugees. [95] All likely aided by intelligence collection efforts in Somalia. Donovan was a soldier and Medal of Honor recipient from World War I. The terrorist organization has vowed to overthrow the Somali government, which is supported by some 20,000 troops from the African Union. According to the report, the four men were members of the CIA’s Maritime Branch, one of the three branches of the Special Operations Group, which works under the Special Activities Center. a Little Bird helicopter dropped out of the sky, and a sniper leaned out and fired three shots into the car's engine block. [57] On October 9, 1967, Guevara was executed by Bolivian soldiers on the orders of CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer Félix Rodríguez shortly after being captured, according to CIA documents. The Lyons Press. The program consisted of teams of SAC paramilitary officers organized to execute targeted killing operations against al Qaeda operatives around the world in any country. Da Capo Press. In the same time period, the EU and UN have spent millions of dollars on the military training of the Somali National Army (SNA). The Special Operations Group is made up of Paramilitary Operations Officers. FREE Shipping. Strikes In Somalia Reportedly Kill 31", "Commando raid in Somalia is latest in covert operations across the globe", "Senior al Qaeda leader killed in Somalia", "U.S. Gunship fires on al Qaeda Leader and Operative in Somalia", "Somalia's NISA and CIA: An Effective Partnership Against AlQaeda", Somalia: Over 25 Dead and 40 Injured in Mogadishu Courthouse Siege, "British 'al-Qaida member' killed in US drone attack in Somalia", "Moroccan jihadist killed in Somalia airstrike", "Navy SEALs rescue kidnapped aid workers Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted in Somalia", "U.S. Somalia raid is shape of war to come", https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/us/politics/cia-officer-somalia-death.html, https://sofrep.com/news/senior-cia-officer-killed-during-combat-in-somalia/, https://theintercept.com/2020/11/26/somalia-cia-michael-goodboe/, https://web.archive.org/web/20061001031543/http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/go0610.pdf, "First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan", "Jawbreaker – CIA Special Activities Division", National Clandestine Service (NCS) – Central Intelligence Agency, "Senate Report Explores 2001 Escape by bin Laden From Afghan Mountains", "Bush administration could've captured terrorist Osama Bin Laden in December 2001: Senate report", "C.I.A. An MC-130E engages the line with its V-shaped yoke, and the individual is reeled on board. A majority of these were paramilitary officers. It covered only appropriated funds spent by intelligence agencies. Other strikes against key generals were successful and significantly degraded the command's ability to react to and maneuver against the U.S.-led invasion force. 4.6 out of 5 stars 3. The name refers to the motto of CIA's Special Activities Center: Tertia Optio, the President's third option when military force is inappropriate, and diplomacy is inadequate. On July 7, 2008, Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist and author Seymour Hersh wrote an article in the New Yorker stating that the Bush Administration had signed a Presidential Finding authorizing the CIA to begin cross border paramilitary operations from Iraq and Afghanistan into Iran. As overt support for one element of an insurgency can be counterproductive due to the unfavorable impression of the United States in many countries, in such cases, covert assistance allows the U.S. to assist without damaging the reputation of its beneficiaries. Dans la deuxième moitié des années 1980, le service d'action clandestine avait été renommé Special Activities Staff (SAS), et sa branche paramilitaire, Special Operations Group (SOG). If this battle had not been as successful as it was, there would have been a considerable hostile force in the rear of the U.S./secular Kurdish force in the subsequent assault on the Iraqi army to the south. The primary strengths of SAC paramilitary officers are operational agility, adaptability, and deniability. [281] SAC officers have operated covertly since 1947 in places such as North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Libya, Iraq, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Chile, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Somalia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The two longtime friends were killed fighting side-by-side against the Taliban and buried next to each other at Arlington National Cemetery. Part of the CIA's National Cladestine Service, the Special Activities Division is thought to include around 150 paramilitaries, pilots and other specialists. Within SAD, there are two separate groups: SAD/SOG for tactical paramilitary operations and SAD/PAG for covert political action. "I like this cane," Jones remembers the general exclaiming, a big grin on his face. [17], Propaganda includes leaflets, newspapers, magazines, books, radio, and television, all of which are geared to convey the U.S. message appropriate to the region. [273], In 2002, the George W. Bush Administration prepared a list of "terrorist leaders" the CIA is authorized to kill in a targeted killing if capture is impractical and civilian casualties can be kept to an acceptable number. United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Government Organization. It uses a harness and a self-inflating balloon that carries an attached lift line. Freedman was a former Army Delta Force operator who had served in every conflict that the U.S. was involved in, both officially and unofficially, since Vietnam. Operatives Killed In an Ambush in Afghanistan", "Remembering CIA's Heroes: Nels "Benny" Benson", Star Agents: The anonymous stars in the CIA's Book of Honor memorialize covert operatives lost in the field, Review of Hotel California: The Clandestine War inside Iraq, Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw, http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh, "Seven Pillars of Wisdom – Triumph and Tragedy", Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Enterprise, Space Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Enterprise, DEA Office of National Security Intelligence, Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, National Counterintelligence and Security Center, Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System, Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special_Activities_Center&oldid=1001149282, Non-military counter-terrorist organizations, Paramilitary organizations based in the United States, Articles with dead external links from June 2016, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Articles with incomplete citations from December 2015, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 2016–Present (as Special Activities Center), the use and tactical employment of an unusually wide degree of modern weaponry, high performance / tactical driving (on and off road), surreptitious entry operations (picking or otherwise bypassing locks). [287], The CIA Memorial Wall is located at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Special Operations Group; Political Action Group: a separate group used by the CIA for covert political action; Special Operations Group. At the height of its influence during World War II, the OSS employed almost 24,000 people.[43]. Regardless of background, SAD operators undergo extensive specialized training. SAC/SOG units also defeated Ansar al-Islam in Iraqi Kurdistan prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003[20][21] and trained, equipped, organized and led the Kurdish peshmerga forces to defeat the Iraqi Army in northern Iraq. When deployed to the field, they typically operate in 6 man or fewer teams, with many a mission carried out by a solo SAD operative. Goes After al-Qaida Suspects in Somalia", "U.S. They had come from a wide variety of Middle Eastern and North African countries, including Yemen, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Tunisia, Morocco, and Iran. CIA Paramilitaries are typically ex-military personnel and veterans of military special operations units such as the Green Berets or Marine Force Recon. From humble beginnings 75 years ago, the United States Special Operations Command and the CIA owe its legacy to a group of free thinking, “glorious amateurs” as …