In 1991, the United States and coalition forces liberated Kuwait after its brief occupation by Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army. One of the abiding memories of that conflict was the activities of the coalition's special forces soldiers deep in Iraq, hunting down SCUD missile launchers before Israel could be attacked. Since then, elite military units have played an increasingly important role in the world's armed forces. Special Forces Today recounts their operations over the last fifteen years. From the Gulf War to the 2003 invasion of Iraq--via the war in Afghanistan, the search for war...

"In 1991, Coalition special forces were active deep inside Iraq, hunting down SCUD missile launchers before they could be fired. In 2011, US Navy SEALs were responsible for the assassination of the world s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden. In 2014, the US Delta Force captured Libyan terrorist Ahmed Abu Khattala, wanted for the attack on the US embassy in Benghazi in 2012. Over the last 25 years elite military formations have played an increasingly important role in the policing of the world s trouble spots, including rescuing hostages in Afghanistan and fighting Somali pirates in the...