Commandos

January 3, 1994
Despite General Schwarzkopf's reluctance to employ them, more than 7000 U.S. special-operations personnel took part in Desert Storm. Waller, a Newsweek reporter, describes an Air Force special-ops helicopter raid that knocked out early-warning radar in Iraq, a Navy SEAL mission on Kuwait's coastline that pinned down two Iraqi divisions, a deep-penetration mission into Iraq by Green Beret teams and the destruction of Scud missiles by Delta Force commandos. There is also a chapter on the contribution of the Army's 4th Psychological Operations Group, which dropped tons of propaganda leaflets that purportedly prompted the surrender of thousands of Iraqi soldiers. Waller argues convincingly that Schwarzkopf, the theater commander, bypassed many opportunities to deploy special-ops forces effectively during the Gulf War, and ascribes his reluctance in large part to the U.S. high command's traditional distrust of ``elite'' troops. Based on interviews with some 200 members of the special-operations community and his observation of its training methods, Waller has written a revealing, involving appraisal of the nation's most highly trained and specialized soldiers. Photos. First serial to Newsweek; Military Book Club main selection.

January 1, 1994
Waller ( Congress and the Nuclear Freeze, LJ 6/1/87) attacks his new subject with impunity. The OSS played a heroic role during World War II. The Green Berets have been vilified as the Vietnam War's loose cannons. What of todays's commando types? Did they measure up during Desert Storm? In a dynamite prologue, Waller drops the reader along with eight Green Berets behind Iraqi lines gathering intelligence: the eight stand off a reinforced Iraqi infantry company until extracted by helicopters. A chapter each is invested in illustrating the stringent training and selection procedures Green Berets, SEALS, Delta Force, and Pave Low pilots undergo. The book's second half deals with Desert Storm. Waller argues that the Special Forces remain too politically sensitive for their deployment to be left in the military's hands; their role, as ever, must confine them to the shadows. Highly recommended for modern military collections.-- Richard Paul Snyder, Cty. of Los Angeles P.L., Lakewood

January 1, 1994
An experienced Pentagon correspondent has produced this superior, up-to-date history of U.S. special operations units. Waller emphasizes special forces and the SEALs, providing exceptionally valuable and complete accounts of their training. He goes on to describe, in comparable detail and with both balance and insight, their rather spotty record in Panama and their much better coordinated and more effective efforts in the Persian Gulf. Interspersed with these narrative portions are vivid portraits of the truly original figures who make up such a large part of any special operations team and accounts of these figures' ongoing difficulties with interservice coordination and hostility from more conventional (usually more senior) military leaders. ((Reviewed Jan. 1, 1994))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1994, American Library Association.)