The Command: Deep inside the President's Secret Army

Introduction 

The Command , by Ambinder and Grady, give readers access to the incisive and exhaustive recent history of special United States government mission units that utilize the most sophisticated weapons in dealing with terrorism at both national and international levels. The authors put into light the sophisticated organizational chart of the United States Joint Special Operations Command including the mechanisms with which they accelerate their intelligence and activities. They as well disclose the previously hidden cases where the joint special operations command carried out operations without following the law. At the same time, they raise questions regarding how effectively the US Congress can regulate the units’ activities whose design warranties their operation with as little external interference as possible. The book also looks into and elaborates to the readers several secret missions that the Presidents of the United States have ordered in countries that were least expected to be operational bases of the Joint Special Operations Command while uncovering its growth and the branches that help it in its operations. Thus, the discourse of this paper aims at reviewing the book citing and articulating several strengths, weaknesses, and importance, thereby subsequently giving recommendations on the relevance of the book to future scholars. 

Strengths 

The Command provides answers to pressing questions that the American citizens have been asking regarding the operations of top government secret military agencies, specifically the Joint Special Operations Command. Its authors elaborate how government agencies forming the command can work towards a single goal without any boundaries by isolating the intelligence community from the military in the bid to achieve the set-out objective. It shows high levels of coordination that the President of the United States has with the Central Intelligence Agency as well as the Defense Intelligence Agency in neutralizing threats to not only the American citizens but also the rest of the world. It elaborates on the excellent work that the Operations Command has carried out in ensuring international justice such as pursuing international terrorists and drug dealers such as Pablo Escobar and Osama Bin Laden (Ambinder & Grady, 2012). According to the book, several other anti-terrorism operations have been carried out in Iraq such as those that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (the former al-Qaeda leader) as well as the capture of Saddam Hussein. All these individuals had been breaking international law, and therefore, their arrest and death brought justice at the international level. This included Iran, Peru, China, Afghanistan, Libya, and Somalia where citizens lived in peace governed by law and order following the named terrorists’ capture or death. 

Furthermore, the authors of the book proffer an exposé on the United States military secrecy through research and outstanding access to several lawmakers, Central Intelligence Agency and military heads, officials of the White House as well as individuals whose names are classified that run the various military intelligence programs. The book as well makes use of highly classified documents in divulging the insightful information. Moreover, through interviews with various state military officials, the information that the authors give in the book is very penetrative and provides insight to law students. The authors not only stick to the operations of the Joint Special Operations Command but also narrate other government secret war operations. These include the Delta Force and the SEAL Team Six thereby exposing the fundamental and significant role the United States Congress plays in ensuring that a certain degree of law is observed during the operations. For instance, the Central Intelligence Agency as presented in the book can carry out missions like the assassination of terrorists only after the action findings have been passed and approved by Congress. 

The book further outlines the unlawful actions of the Joint Special Operations Command in foreign countries. Elaborately, sometimes the unit does not follow the law, and as such, acts with impunity characterized by killings such as in Iran and arrests of foreign leaders without any diplomatic permission. Thus, the book fundamentally edifies how the involved forces break international law, especially when they capture and or kill their targets. For instance, in the book, a colleague of McChrystal’s recalls the period between 2003 and 2004 when the JSOC members were cowboys and were not accountable to anyone (Ambinder & Grady, 2012). The authors, in this manner, bring into light the inhuman acts done by the Special Forces in the foreign countries thereby unmasking the truth and debunking the ploy of fighting international terrorism used by the government and the involved agencies which then questions their definition of international justice. 

Weaknesses 

The book leaks a plethora of government operational secrets which can lead to the compromization of several ongoing international justice and peace operations that might be beneficial or important. For example, when it narrates the step by step action that occurred during the killing of Osama bin Laden, it could caution other international terrorists who become aware of the procedures of the Joint Special Operations Command thereby learning new techniques to counter-attack. Also, the authors narrate how the Joint Special Operations Command operated in certain foreign countries such as Pakistan, Iran, and China which taints it as unlawful and highly exploitative. This is particularly demeaning for forces that consider themselves as elite and the only ones that could have maintained the law without adhering to any laid down procedures or laws in the mentioned counties. In Iraq, for instance, the book divulges how operations command interrogated its detainees in an inhumane and barbaric manner which can make military units from other allied countries like Britain to stop working with them seeing that this already happened in the past. 

“ Special officers acted as though they were above the law, and the Senate review later concluded that JSOC interrogators regularly brutalized their detainees. At the same time, members of both the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency sent words up their respective chains of command that JSOC was possibly breaking the law” (Ambinder & Grady, 2012). 

Consequently, the book itself may facilitate breaking diplomatic relations between the United States and the counties involved as the latter may see the US as exploitative and lawbreaking. 

The authors state that “getting information out of JSOC is like trying to pry loose the Vatican’s secrets” (Ambinder & Grady, 2012). Thus, the book exposes the deep secrets with which the operations of the joint forces operate which allow them to deny in the case things fail to go according to plan and turn out bad. Even during joint activities with military personnel from other countries such as Britain, some foreign officers saw it as disastrous when the Central Intelligence Agency could not share information with fellow citizens. Their operation is covered by top-level secrecy which contributes to the occurrences where they operate above the law since they would not be accountable to anyone if things failed out of place. Thus, by exposing the joint forces in this manner, it cripples their operations which at times might require taking significant and unnecessary risks such as torture or sleep deprivation as reported by Seymour Hersh that are outside the law. 

Importance 

The authors, through their narration, impart awareness among law students regarding the operations of the Special or joint Forces concerning international laws. Further, students are made aware of procedures and interventions that proffer international peace but often require breaking other laws that govern human rights. With this experience, law students can become legal advisors when they begin their law practice on matters about international justice. It also enlightens readers on the laws that govern the operations of the intelligence agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency. The book as well provides information that is helpful in the evaluation of whether the mechanisms that have been put in place to offer protection to the American citizens are indeed beneficial or efficient or if they infringe on their rights and freedoms. 

The book also narrates the counterterrorism measures that the President of the United States puts in place through his special army and the Joint Special Operations Command which provides primary precedence for international relations scholars. In as much as some of the ways through which these measures are implemented might infringe on the human rights of citizens, they ultimately lead to the achievement of maintaining law and order at the international level thereby ensuring peace across the world. 

The Command also creates a better understanding of how international law is often disregarded when military or Special Forces operations are being conducted. It then goes ahead to narrate how the US Senate strives to achieve and maintain a certain level of adherence to the law through the Joint Special Operations Command. Even though there is top level secrecy in their operations, there is concern showed by the Senate regarding adhering to the law since the Senate always has to review the actions of the Special Forces thereby terming them unlawful or lawful. 

Recommendations 

The book enlightens law students on the operations of the elite joint Presidential secret forces worldwide in the bid to maintain law and order internationally, but in the process, they go beyond the limits due to difficult circumstances which makes their elitism worse. This knowledge is essential and further research is recommended to law students who intend to venture into international law, as well as, governance within the United States. The Command also provides some answers that individual students might have about the operations of the elite forces in the United States which brought down some major international lawbreakers and terrorists such as Osama bin Laden and Pablo Escobar. Therefore, reading this book would benefit future students as it adds value to the knowledge of international law, international relations, as well as select government operations and functions. 

Reference 

Ambinder, M., & Grady, D. B. (2012).  The Command: Deep inside the President's Secret Army . John Wiley & Sons.