A Primary Tool

Posted: May 12th, 2016

By Michael Vickers

Dr. Michael Vickers served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence from 2011 to 2015, the Chief Executive Officer of the Defense Intelligence Enterprise, an $80 billion, 180,000-person, global operation that includes the National Security Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, Defense Security Service, and the intelligence components of the Military Services and Combatant Commands. He played a major policy and planning role in the operation that killed Usama bin Ladin. From 2007 to 2011, he served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, Low-Intensity Conflict and Interdependent Capabilities. Earlier in his career, he served in the Special Forces and in the CIA's Clandestine Service, and had operational and combat experience in Central America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

Today, the role of U.S. Special Forces (SOF) in the fight against terror has never been more important. Mike Vickers, former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, explains that “U.S. SOF will continue to play a central role in our counterterrorism efforts” and that they have been a “key tool in removing top terrorist targets and dismantling terrorist networks.”

The Cipher Brief: The first week of May marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Osama bin Ladin. What will be the future role of Special Operations Forces in the fight against terror, specifically in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria?

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