9781422277133

1. MISSION REPORT : A FIGHTING FORCE T he “war on terror” became an international concern after al-Qaeda, a terrorist group from Afghanistan and Pakistan, attacked the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. But terrorism itself has a much longer history. Terrorist acts differ in important ways from conventional warfare. In conventional war, opposing sides engage each other in deliberate ways that are generally known to the other side, such as on a battlefield. Terrorists, however, use secret methods that are difficult to oppose. There is little or no advance warning of an attack. They often target civilians to instill fear and try to force their enemies to do certain things. Until the middle of the 20th century, US wars were mainly of the con- ventional kind. That began to change in the 1960s with the Vietnam War, when guerrilla fighters changed the landscape of war. These small groups moved more quickly and secretly than regular soldiers. They ambushed and sabotaged their enemies. To survive in this new environment, US troops needed a way to effectively fight back.

Words To Understand guerrilla irregular or surprise methods of fighting, often by small groups reconnaissance surveying an area to collect strategic information about it

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