The recent war in Iraq was, among other things, a powerful advertisement for the effectiveness of the United States' storied special operations forces. Their achievements, although impressive, do not fully explain the unprecedented prominence currently enjoyed by special operations forces within the US military. Rumsfeld has made no secret of his plans to thrust special forces into the lead role in the war on terrorism, by using them for covert operations around the globe. If Rumsfeld gets his way, administration hawks may soon start using special forces to attack or undermine other regimes on Washington's hit list -- without the sort of crucial public debate that preceded the war in Iraq. This essay, by Jennifer Kibbe of the Brookings Institution, was published in the March-April issue of Foreign Affairs. The Rise of the Shadow Warriors | 
