Demand for Elite Forces Growing Fast

FILE -- In this April 1, 2009 file photo, United States Special Operations Commander, Navy Adm. Eric...

FILE -- In this April 1, 2009 file photo, United States Special Operations Commander, Navy Adm. Eric T. Olson, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on U.S. policy for Pakistan and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

(AP)

As the U.S. and its allies pressure insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan, there will be a greater need for intelligence in North Africa where extremists seek sanctuary, the military's top special operations commander told Congress on Thursday.

Adm. Eric T. Olson, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, told the House Armed Services terrorism subcommittee Thursday that increased military pressure "will not necessarily end the (insurgent) activity, it will shift some of the sanctuaries to other places."

Counterterrorism officials have warned that battle-hardened extremists have been moving from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to safe havens in north and east Africa, bringing sophisticated terrorist tactics with them.

Olson also said that it will take a long, patient effort to defeat insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan and win the hearts and minds of civilians.

Olson also told the subcommittee that his elite special operations forces can't grow fast enough to meet increasing global demands, so the Pentagon is depending more heavily on support that is not always available from regular forces.

He turned to intelligence concerns in North Africa in response to a question from Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the subcommittee.

Smith asked Olson if the special operations forces could use more intelligence and surveillance coverage in North Africa, where al-Qaida has set up a franchise in the vast ungoverned areas.

"We've got to find ways of having a better understanding of what is happening there," Olson said, adding that increased surveillance would be one answer.

In Pakistan, Olson said the U.S. must be careful not to take any action that suggests the Pakistan military is an extension of the U.S. military. And in Afghanistan, he said, the key is to have as small a footprint as possible, and work "village by village, valley by valley."

"We need to get better at countering Taliban propaganda," added Smith, saying that the U.S., including Olson's special operations forces, must work with the locals to get the Afghan people "on our side."