Looking for sources

[Grasor]

Hello all,

While I anxiously wait for my dedicated recruiter to clear a paperwork blockade on my application package I have taken on a Graduate course at AMU studying Asymmetrical Warfare. This semester I am to submit a research paper on any subject of choice so long as it pertains to Special Operations. I have elected to research Special Forces during the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars; though I have a page limit so I may have to focus on one or the other.

I need to get my hands on several scholarly works to lead me down the right path. Does anyone have any recommendations for articles, books, or other media that you believe would be useful to me? Works of fiction obviously can't be used for this purpose.

Thanks!
-G

[Ambush Master]

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Good Luck, and Stay Safe!!
Martin

[Buffalobob]

A common failure is to select a research subject that is too broad such as "The Meaning of the Universe". Every year I would have ten year old children call my office and want information on "why pollution is bad for the river" and I kept in my computer a list of science projects suitable for the intellectual ability of young children and would try to interest them in a project they could actually do and understand. I would suggest you narrow the question down to something that you can actually deal with intelligently in a limited number of words.

A couple of topic could be such as the "Interactions of US Special Forces with Kurdish Ethnic Groups during the Iraq War", "the transition of the Strategic Mission of US Special Forces over the last decade",

[Richard]

Kinda late to be starting a research paper at this point in the semester.

If you're seriously interested in the topic, the USASOC Historian put out a book titled All Roads Lead To Baghdad: Army Special Operations Forces In Iraq ISBN-13: 978-0-16-075364-0. It's a thoroughly researched book and a good read.

If not or if time is a factor ( ), there are a number of decent articles on the subject to be found in dedicated issues of Newsweek and National Geographic and such. As a side note, it might be far easier at this point for yyou to focus on something much narrower with a lot of easily found sources such as SOF's role in the hunt for Saddam Hussein and his capture.

Good luck u. gutes lesen!

Richard

[Grasor]

Originally Posted by Richard

Kinda late to be starting a research paper at this point in the semester.


Richard

AMU semesters are all over the place, I still have 11 weeks left in this one; plenty of time.


Thanks everyone!

[HardRoad]

I agree with Buffalobob on this one - even picking one theater, a paper with a topic that broad is going to be extremely superficial.

Consider narrowing the topic by either concentrating on SF activities over a short period of time, a single mission set, or a single aspect of SF missions.

For example, you could look at the transition from SF working primarily with AMF to ANA over the period 03-05, or, for something more recent (and something that I know has some relevant material available) you could look at SF and the VSO mission. Very relevant to the asymetric warfare problem set, and still evolving, so it would be a good topic for a research paper.

Or pick something else, but I'd recommmend making it narrow enough so that your paper has some meat to it, and doesn't end up being just a generic overview.

Hope that helps