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Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team
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Product Description
The Activity’s story begins with the abortive attempt to rescue the American hostages from Iran in 1980. One of the main reasons Operation Eagle Claw failed was a chronic lack of intel on the ground, so in January 1981, U.S. military chiefs set up the “Intelligence Support Activity,” a cover name for a secret army surveillance team that could operate undercover anywhere in the world. Hidden from the politicians and the government bean counters, it would carry out deniable operations preparing the way for Delta and SEAL Team Six.
Michael Smith has spoken to many former members of the Activity, and we follow them on operations from the war on the drug barons that led Colombian "death squads" to the hideouts of Pablo Escobar and his men. We learn of more recent missions, including snatching war criminals from their safe houses in the Balkans (at one time disguising themselves as French soldiers to lull a Serb warlord into a false sense of security), and operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa. Killer Elite reveals the incredible truth behind the world's most secret Special Operations organization, a unit that is at the forefront of the War on Terror.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #73983 in Books
- Published on: 2007-03-06
- Released on: 2007-03-06
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 352 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Former British intelligence officer Smith (The Emperor's Codes) shines a light on one of the U.S. Army's blackest agencies and best-kept secrets, the Intelligence Support Activity—aka the Activity—in this extensively researched and crisply written exposé. The Activity was established, after the failed attempt to rescue the American hostages in Iran in 1980, as "a dedicated special operations intelligence unit" to provide signals, imagery and human intelligence to other black units: e.g., the army's Delta Force. Although opposed by army traditionalists, the Activity proved itself in operations from El Salvador to Iraq, playing important roles in tracking down Colombian drug czar Pablo Escobar, Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aideed and several prominent Bosnian war criminals. Since 9/11 and Operation Iraqi Freedom have exposed the shortcomings of U.S. intelligence, the size and scope of the Activity has, according to the author, "dramatically increased." Drawing on recently declassified documents and confidential interviews with key participants, Smith has produced an important primer for anyone hoping to understand the (usually quiet) successes and the (well-documented) failures of U.S. intelligence in the last 25 years. 16 pages color photo insert. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
A British journalist specializing in defense topics offers a readable, useful addition to the literature on American special operations forces. During the expansion of special operations forces in the 1980s, a secret group given the code name Intelligence Support Activity was charged with the primary function of gathering intelligence. It has played a valuable though unpublicized role in both Iraq wars, in antiterrorist operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and in the war on drugs. Its operatives can also fight--very well--as and when necessary. This book is finally a portrait of the unit's founder, Jerry Ryan, who had the usual spec-ops specialist's trouble with the brass. But his unit, now expanded to regimental strength, seems likely to remain on U.S. Army rolls, and military buffs and authorities may some day rank Ryan with Charles Beckwith, the founder of Delta Force. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
'Well written and authoritatively sourced, Killer Elite is the first detailed account of a special operations unit that Smith regards as America's most effective.' -- Saul David SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Absorbing material, superbly presented.' SCOTTISH LEGION NEWS
Customer Reviews
Great glimpse into a covert world!
The book, Killer Elite, by Michael Smith is not only a highly interesting expose of an elite American covert military unit, but also provides a thought provoking illustration of how US Foreign Policy objectives are increasingly being met by small teams of operators in the back alleys of the world. The unit is commonly known as the "Activity" and occasional snippets concerning its various missions and techniques have periodically emerged in the mainstream media for the past few decades. Its mission is to support the better-known and more overt Special Operations Forces such as DELTA and the SEALS in conducting their missions. They do this by providing actionable intelligence that they gather via various means such as the handling of agents or through eavesdropping of communication networks. The book further describes how the unit is now evolving into more expanded missions that are similar to the traditional clandestine agent handling performed by the CIA.
The books' beginning reads similar to Steven Emerson's classic, Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era, but springs forward into more current and less known operations. I was surprised at the level of research and the author's contacts with both the US and British Special Operations and Intelligence Communities. It sheds a great deal of light and is an excellent read for anyone interested in Special Operations or Human Intelligence gathering. For those interested in this field, Fishers of Men by Rob Lewis is also an excellent book.
Inside the World of U.S. Special Ops
As a writer on intelligence matters, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the worldwide activities of the U.S. military's Special Operations Forces, as seen through the spectrum of the U.S. Army's secretive clandestine intelligence unit formerly known as the "Intelligence Support Activity." Not only is Mr. Smith's book very readible, but it is also very informative and thought provoking about the vitally important role played by the U.S. military in trying to combat the growing number of terrorist and insurgent threats around the world.
Regardless of where you come down on the political spectrum about U.S. foreign and military policy, this serious book is important because it reminds us that U.S. Special Operations Forces have played an important, albeit secretive role in virtually all significant counterterrorist and counterinsurgency operations since the end of World War II, and that their role in the war on terrorism is becoming increasingly important.
Mr. Smith has a well-deserved reputation for being a top-flight military affairs reporter in England, and this book further confirms his standing as one of the best in the field.
GREAT FACTUAL READ
Mr. Smith has tackled a difficult, at best, topic to research and write about. I am recommending the book to everyone in Chapter 85, Special Forces Association at our next meeting. As a former Special Forces soldier and graduate of the Army's COTA Course I can relate to many of the operational unit developments Smith covers in, ' Killer Elite ". Having had the pleasure to serve with and /or meet some of the 'characters' mentioned I can attest to the accuracy of the information provided. Mr. Smith, you can be sure I'll be reading your other works.
