Twilight Warriors: Inside the World's Special Forces - Hardcover

Arostegui, Martin C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312152345 ISBN 13: 9780312152345

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1997

Synopsis

A look at the world's special forces penetrates the secrecy surrounding the U.S. Navy SEALs, Delta Force, and Green Berets; Britain's SAS; and other lesser-known organizations, such as Germany's GSG9 and France's GIGN

About this title

Reviews

A journalist's scattershot survey of the elite military and police units Western governments employ for their dirtiest jobs. Drawing largely on his own reportage, Arostegui (who's a former consultant on counterterrorism) offers vivid hit-and-run briefings on a small army of special forces in action against terrorists or rival troops. Cases in point range from Britain's SAS versus the Muslim fanatics holding Iran's London embassy through the derring-do of America's Green Berets and SEALs in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. Also covered are the exploits of lower-profile outfits like Australia's SAS, France's GIGN, the French Foreign Legion's CRAP, Germany's GSG9, and Spain's BOEL. In addition, the engrossing text fairly bristles with rough-and-ready commentary from Charles Beckwith (Delta Force), Peter de BilliŠre (ex-SAS), Bo Gritz (a retired Green Beret colonel and self-appointed spokesman for the far-right paramilitary movement), Richard Marcinko (of Rogue Warrior fame), and a host of lesser lights. When not engaging in unconventional combat or undercover operations, storming hijacked airliners, carrying out assassinations, or otherwise dealing with enemies of the state, special forces prepare for their next missions. En passant, the author provides painfully detailed rundowns on their training regimens, field doctrine, weaponry, and esprit; he also offers a full ration of raunchy anecdotes on the off-duty antics of these nonesuch men-at-arms. Save for quick takes on the WW II origins of the SAS and John F. Kennedy's role in getting the US into the special forces game, however, Arostegui devotes precious little attention to how and why special units were created, let alone the ways in which they serve variant notions of national security. In short: a fine collection of consistently absorbing war stories, which lacks the perspectives that could yield a coherent picture of the many mortal dangers still faced by the Global Village long after the Soviet Union's collapse. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Special forces are used for counterterrorism, covert actions, reconnaissance, and assassinations. The United States alone has the Green Berets, SEALs, Delta Force, Rangers, Marines, and Air Force units, to mention several. The British have the SAS and SBS; Germany has the CSG9; and France, Russia, and Israel have their own units. These units attract members who live life on the edge. Arostegui, a freelance journalist specializing in military affairs and counterterrorism, recounts the histories of many of these special forces. He badly needs a good editor, because in every chapter, he piles on incident after incident, e.g., Germans in Somalia, Americans in the Gulf and Vietnam, the British in the Falklands, Aden, and Northern Ireland. Of interest to those willing to wade through the details; for special collections.?Stanley Itkin, Hillside P.L., New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This highly readable though somewhat overly anecdotal addition to special-warfare collections is full of salty or bloody accounts of special-forces selection and training and of both counterterrorist and field operations in the Vietnam, Falklands, and Persian Gulf Wars. A good many of the accounts involve units that have not often been covered, such as the Australian SAS (whose selection course in the outback rivals the U.S. SEALs' "Hell Week") and various French organizations. Arostegui fails, however, to provide adequate historical background on special warfare, terrorism, and counterterrorism, and he makes more than a few brow-raising remarks, such as calling U.S. Colonel Charles Beckwith, founder of the famous Delta Force, an "unreconstructed racist." Although the book is not nearly as informative as many interested readers would expect, it is chatty and entertaining. Roland Green

Edition details

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312152345
• ISBN 13: 9780312152345
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 313