ASSESSING SOF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY The use of Special Operations Forces by the UK, US, Australia, and Canada Jon Moran This report has been commissioned by Remote Control, a project of the Network for Social Change hosted by Oxford Research Group. The project examines changes in military engagement, with a focus on remote control warfare. This form of intervention takes place behind the scenes or at a distance rather than on a traditional battlefield, often through drone strikes and air strikes from above, with special forces, intelligence operatives, private contractors, and military training teams on the ground. Dr Jon Moran is a Reader in Security at the University of Leicester. Published by Remote Control, July 2016 Remote Control Oxford Research Group Development House 56-64 Leonard Street London EC2A 4LT United Kingdom +44 (0)207 549 0298
[email protected] http://remotecontrolproject.org This report is made available under a Creative Commons license. All citations must be credited to Remote Control and Jon Moran. The information in this report does not necessarily reflect the views of Remote Control. Cover image: Flickr, Defence Images Contents Executive Summary 1 Policy implications for the UK Government 2 Introduction: the Golden Age of special forces 3 The Rise of Special Operations Forces 5 The recent growth of special forces: four examples 5 What are Special Operations Forces used for? 8 Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) 8 Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield 8 Forward Air Control 8 Targeted killing 8 Undermining or overthrowing regimes 9 Training and mentoring 10 Transparency and accountability of the use of SOF by the UK, US, Canada and Australia 11 The decision to deploy SOF 11 General oversight 13 SOF and Rules of Engagement 14 Implications of a lack of transparency and accountability in SOF deployments 18 Duties owed to SOF 19 Conclusions 20 Recommendations to the UK Government 21 important part of remote control warfare.