Once again I make the mistake of thinking that, a book about the forces will be intertesting, yes only if you are into politics!!!! There is no actual action stories here, just all the hurdles that, was put up againest, the setting up of a Force like this, very disappointing

I could not agree more with "B"s review. I actually gave up on this book after about 3/4 of the way through. It contains lots of "could have done it if we were allowed" stories. Simply boring.

if one can't find any Bo Gritz books
at Bo's site or here on amazon. Bo
gets good mention in here as well!

I can pretty well guarantee you that Tom Clancy has already read this book - it assures us that the people who need to die have been doing just that in the US/British war against terror worldwide. (I've personally thought about this theme of Clancy's re: playing God but it's a non-issue for me in the present context). The rules have changed for the military - mercilessly exposed are also the bureaucratic and cowardly butt covering bungling within the inner workings of the military organization proper. The one bright light is ironically the resurgence of a secret unit to serve this purpose via new support for it at the highest levels of government...post 9/11. If you're interested in how things really get done around the world, or if you know the significance of the word "special" when applied to the military, (another Clancyism), are interested in electronic communications, or possibly in politics, this book will broaden your horizons. Unless ofcourse you just don't want to know - as Jack Nicholson famously said on screen ... "You can't handle the truth ... we live in a world with walls lieutenant..."

One gets the feeling there might have been a good book here but for security restraints imposed on the writer. The title's claim of "Killer Elite" isn't borne out by the text inside. Elite or not, there is so little actual infomration the reader will never know.

I enjoyed Killer Elite, it is a very interesting look into a military unit many people don't even know exists. There are a myriad of books available on top secret commandos like Delta Force and the SAS, but precious little is written about the people who enable them to do their jobs.

That being said this book can be very dry in places and tough to get through. It is also written from a big picture view point, meaning you aren't going to get war stories from the grunts in the weeds doing the work. It is a good read if you are interested into the subject matter. But if you are looking for an exciting book detailing some amazing special forces stories that is a true page turner, this book isn't it.

This book MAY be informative to a reader who is NOT familiar with Special Forces/Special Operations.
That said, I think there are other books that I would place MUCH higher on the list.

Smith writes on the stove piping of intelligence; the past 28 years of Special Forces/Ops developments; the Big Army dislike and distrust of Special Forces; SF's "audacity" to create the form of intell service to suit their needs; that the "Activity" would morph into a being unto itself; Rumsfeld's favor of SpecOps, etc.

Smith tries to portray a secret army. It's sanitized to the point where he fails to even elaborate on many of the more interesting participants who he does refer to. For example, Bill Cowan is brought up numerous times. Smith could devote a book just to him, but again, fails to draw out the character.

Of particular interest to me was Smith's assertion that The Activity's view was that Task Force Ranger was a success. For their mission, it might be construed as such, but I'm skeptical of Smith's conclusions.

I would have liked to have seen Task Force Ranger thru Garrison's eyes as the #1 guy...he was once with The Activity. Does HE share Smith's assessment of The Activity's definition of success...from ANY vantage???

A book like this is tough to write. Smith does do a good job placing events in chronological order and detailing some operational aspects.

But for the more informed reader, this is a dry re-read that I would not recommend. I have to question if this isn't just another book published to capitalize of the spotlight and popularity of Special Operations.

Killer Elite is an interesting and relevant review of the secretive human and signals intelligence capability of U.S. Special Operations Forces known as "The Activity," among other names. The writing integrates well other works about military special operations and civilian intelligence operations, and it explains the importance of a dedicated intelligence unit to prepare the battlespace for special operators. It traces the intelligence needs of U.S. Special Forces back to their modern formation in the 1960s through the present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it explains how the Activity was created to attempt to meet those needs. The British special forces author manages to include some relevant examples of British ties, similarities in practices, etc. His sources include informal interviews presumably in the form of personal communications, summaries of apparently classified documents, and public sources such as legislative and judicial inquiries.

Coverage is by necessity somewhat superficial, and more analysis of any recent failures would be interesting. Successes of the "knob turner" signals intelligence operators and human intelligence spy handlers present a somewhat rosy picture of what can happen when SO forces finally get their hands on capabilities that were formerly jealously guarded by CIA, DIA, regular military intelligence, NSA. The apparent contributions by the NSA in back-end processing of field-gathered signals intelligence by The Activity may be somewhat shortchanged. Yet at the same time, having SO folks and their electronic intelligence equipment in direct proximity to their quarry is something the NSA probably would never have been able to do themselves. Some of the electronic signals were probably too weak for NSA to intercept from their satellites or ground-based remote listening stations for example. As with human intelligence from the spies cultivated by the Activity handlers, signals intelligence was also pointedly for the direct benefit of and use by Special Operations.

References to spy tradecraft, operator selection processes and training, and other background issues are cursory at times, so some prior knowledge of the more basic aspects of intelligence and military special operations may be useful. Eric Haney's Delta Force gives a very good overview of both. Robert Baer, Gary Schroen, Gary Berntsen and others also write about some of these areas. Baer gives a good description of the CIA's "The Farm" training school and his running of agents in the field. Haney gives a good description of CIA tradecraft exercises. Other sources describe Special Forces training and field operations. Pretty much all of that is assumed to be background knowledge here.

Overall Killer Elite is a good, integrative overview of U.S. special operations' own intelligence capabilities, for which this is an unofficial history. It meaningfully exposes us to this hitherto unknown area, while including references to other known aspects of special operations and intelligence without exploring the latter in much detail.

Regarding other comments about writing style and excitement, I found the style acceptable if slightly dry and the accounts of successful and productive missions facilitated by actionable intelligence obtained by the Activity to be satisfying in the sense of important and difficult jobs well-done. I also found the descriptions of internal political strife between the Pentagon, special operations, Donald Rumsfeld, etc., to be a highly relevant confirmation.

Given that this work is the product of military people and in particular a European, a sense of civilian oversight or public accountability is understandibly somewhat lacking except in a few extreme cases. In European states with long-held permanent military establishments, these concerns likely generate little cultural traction. However given American laws and ideals of the citizen soldier and civilian authority over the military, it ought to be given more coverage. Those concerns have been somewhat swept under the carpet in the name of the "War on Terror," but to do so is to ignore an important aspect of American history and tradition. Killer Elite is not meant to be a broader cultural commentary, yet may be lacking some important context as a result.

Killer Elite is an interesting and relevant review of the secretive human and signals intelligence capability of U.S. Special Operations Forces known as "The Activity," among other names. The writing integrates well other works about military special operations and civilian intelligence operations, and it explains the importance of a dedicated intelligence unit to prepare the battlespace for special operators. It traces the intelligence needs of U.S. Special Forces back to their modern formation in the 1960s through the present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it explains how the Activity was created to attempt to meet those needs. The British special forces author manages to include some relevant examples of British ties, similarities in practices, etc. His sources include informal interviews presumably in the form of personal communications, summaries of apparently classified documents, and public sources such as legislative and judicial inquiries.

Coverage is by necessity somewhat superficial, and more analysis of any recent failures would be interesting. Successes of the "knob turner" signals intelligence operators and human intelligence spy handlers present a somewhat rosy picture of what can happen when SO forces finally get their hands on capabilities that were formerly jealously guarded by CIA, DIA, regular military intelligence, NSA. The apparent contributions by the NSA in back-end processing of field-gathered signals intelligence by The Activity may be somewhat shortchanged. Yet at the same time, having SO folks and their electronic intelligence equipment in direct proximity to their quarry is something the NSA probably would never have been able to do themselves. Some of the electronic signals were probably too weak for NSA to intercept from their satellites or ground-based remote listening stations for example. As with human intelligence from the spies cultivated by the Activity handlers, signals intelligence was also pointedly for the direct benefit of and use by Special Operations.

References to spy tradecraft, operator selection processes and training, and other background issues are cursory at times, so some prior knowledge of the more basic aspects of intelligence and military special operations may be useful. Eric Haney's Delta Force gives a very good overview of both. Robert Baer, Gary Schroen, Gary Berntsen and others also write about some of these areas. Baer gives a good description of the CIA's "The Farm" training school and his running of agents in the field. Haney gives a good description of CIA tradecraft exercises. Other sources describe Special Forces training and field operations. Pretty much all of that is assumed to be background knowledge here.

Overall Killer Elite is a good, integrative overview of U.S. special operations' own intelligence capabilities, for which this is an unofficial history. It meaningfully exposes us to this hitherto unknown area, while including references to other known aspects of special operations and intelligence without exploring the latter in much detail.

Regarding other comments about writing style and excitement, I found the style acceptable if slightly dry and the accounts of successful and productive operations facilitated by actionable intelligence obtained by the Activity to be satisfying in the sense of important and difficult jobs well-done. I also found the descriptions of internal political strife between the Pentagon, special operations, Donald Rumsfeld, etc., to be a highly relevant confirmation.

Killer Elite is an interesting and relevant review of the secretive human and signals intelligence capability of U.S. Special Operations Forces known as "The Activity," among other names. The writing integrates well other works about military special operations and civilian intelligence operations, and it explains the importance of a dedicated intelligence unit to prepare the battlespace for special operators. It traces the intelligence needs of U.S. Special Forces back to their modern formation in the 1960s through the present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it explains how the Activity was created to attempt to meet those needs. The British special forces author manages to include some relevant examples of British ties, similarities in practices, etc. His sources include informal interviews presumably in the form of personal communications, summaries of apparently classified documents, and public sources such as legislative and judicial inquiries.

Coverage is by necessity somewhat superficial, and more analysis of any recent failures would be interesting. Successes of the "knob turner" signals intelligence operators and human intelligence spy handlers present a somewhat rosy picture of what can happen when SO forces finally get their hands on capabilities that were formerly jealously guarded by CIA, DIA, regular military intelligence, NSA. The apparent contributions by the NSA in back-end processing of field-gathered signals intelligence by The Activity may be somewhat shortchanged. Yet at the same time, having SO folks and their electronic intelligence equipment in direct proximity to their quarry is something the NSA probably would never have been able to do themselves. Some of the electronic signals were probably too weak for NSA to intercept from their satellites or ground-based remote listening stations for example. As with human intelligence from the spies cultivated by the Activity handlers, signals intelligence was also pointedly for the direct benefit of and use by Special Operations.

References to spy tradecraft, operator selection processes and training, and other background issues are cursory at times, so some prior knowledge of the more basic aspects of intelligence and military special operations may be useful. Eric Haney's Delta Force gives a very good overview of both. Robert Baer, Gary Schroen, Gary Berntsen and others also write about some of these areas. Baer gives a good description of the CIA's "The Farm" training school and his running of agents in the field. Haney gives a good description of CIA tradecraft exercises. Other sources describe Special Forces training and field operations. Pretty much all of that is assumed to be background knowledge here.

Overall Killer Elite is a good, integrative overview of U.S. special operations' own intelligence capabilities, for which this is an unofficial history. It meaningfully exposes us to this hitherto unknown area, while including references to other known aspects of special operations and intelligence without exploring the latter in much detail.

Regarding other comments about writing style and excitement, I found the style acceptable and the accounts of successful and productive operations facilitated by actionable intelligence obtained by the Activity to be satisfying in the sense of important and difficult jobs well-done. I also found the descriptions of internal political strife between the Pentagon, special operations, Donald Rumsfeld, etc., to be a highly relevant confirmation.

This book was a purchase I should have never made. Not to bash the author because his book was well referenced and researched but it was dry as the desert I am in and was like reading stereo instructions. If it's a history lesson you want then by all means get it but if you want action don't do it.

Killer Elite is an eyeopener to those accustomed to images of warfare based on the orderly models of the past, i.e. planning, staging, task force formation, and so on. This evolution began with the formation of a small group of military officers and enlisted men who groped their way towards a successful operational model. Against enormous opposition from military commanders, including Gen. Arnold Schwarzkopf, who succeeded in keeping them out of the first Gulf War with Iraq this group survived to become the leading edge of modern warfare which relies more on stealth and secrecy than it does on large scale military operations. Their involvement in the killing of Colombian druglord Pablo Escobar as well as in the capture of war criminals from Kosovo demonstrates not only their flexibility but also the changing definition of war itself. Using a style of operations referred to as "Taking down the mountain" these forces etched away at Escobar's support structure by aiding in the detention and/or assassination of vital contacts for him and in the process forced him to take increasingly greater risks in order to avoid capture. Eventually Escober was "without a friend" and died in a shootout with these Killer Elites operating alongside regular Colombian military forces. Today these killer elites already have "boots on the ground" in virtually all expected future military targeted enemy territories, leading the way by gathering intelligence far in advance of any actual operation by maintaining a low profile and gathering vital intelligence. Their boldness in performing these advanced operations is both dangerous and exciting. For example, in the second Iraq war they were on the ground months before the actual military assault began and were instrumental not only in tapping into fiber optic telephone lines to provide vital intelligence advantages to operational military commanders but also in destroying key infrastructure components which served to deny operational readiness for Iraqi forces once the war began. Killer Elites is a well constructed story of how this group came into creation despite constant sabotaging by senior military commanders and how they became what the title of this book suggests, true "killer elites".
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I found this book to be a great read. To me this book went into great detail about the "behind the scenes" aspects. From reading many other books related to the Global War Terrorism, mainly dealing with the special forces aspect, I was able to "tie all of their stories together". This book fills in many blanks in military operations in the Tier 1 arena, as well as exposing you to a small group of absolute professionals. This book also holds nothing back in revealing how unglamorous and non-Hollywood Special Forces and the military in general are. I highly recomend this book to anyone interested in this little known area of the Department of Defense.

I tend to be someone who likes to utilize my time effectively. Even when reading for entertainment, as was the case when I bought this book. Unfortunately, it was more a lesson in the inner political battle that ensued about Special Operation Forces and their leaders. I more than once got a taste of Smith's views on the Iraq war, especially when he talks about why we went into Iraq, which had absolutely noting to do with the topic of the book. You can probably guess he painted a picture of, "there was no good reason to go into Iraq." Same liberal nonsense the media pushes on us everyday.

The only reason he is getting two stars and not one is for the few interesting pages that actually talk about operations. Otherwise a complete waste of time.

This is a book well worth reading if the subject of today's Special Forces and selectively targeting badguy's interests you. Much of what the highly secretive 'Army of Northern Virginia' has been doing for the past 3 decades is revealed here. If you are someone interested in the above subject. I would also recommend: The Phoenix and the Birds of Prey, The Hunt for The Engineer and the book: Striking back.

I was enlightened and enjoyed the book. Easy reading but somewhat disturbing to find that our countries political and military leadership cannot mak timely decisions that are able to insure national security.

This book on the ISA had some new info, but mostly material I have read in other places. A pretty good book overall. I found some chronological mistakes, but I find more and more that this is commonplace in these kinds of books that must expound on historical events; so much for the editor doing his job. I liked it and would recommend it to others who want to know how the U S Govt is handling the more touchy military ops. These (ISA) are the guys you never read or hear about unless someone writes about them. This is the book for that.

Good book. A little too detailed in some areas. Needs emphasis on action parts, but a good read. Lets one understand what goes on behind the national press scene.

The book, Killer Elite, by Michael Smith is not only a highly interesting expose of an elite American covert military unit, but also provides a thought provoking illustration of how US Foreign Policy objectives are increasingly being met by small teams of operators in the back alleys of the world. The unit is commonly known as the "Activity" and occasional snippets concerning its various missions and techniques have periodically emerged in the mainstream media for the past few decades. Its mission is to support the better-known and more overt Special Operations Forces such as DELTA and the SEALS in conducting their missions. They do this by providing actionable intelligence that they gather via various means such as the handling of agents or through eavesdropping of communication networks. The book further describes how the unit is now evolving into more expanded missions that are similar to the traditional clandestine agent handling performed by the CIA.

The books' beginning reads similar to Steven Emerson's classic, Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era, but springs forward into more current and less known operations. I was surprised at the level of research and the author's contacts with both the US and British Special Operations and Intelligence Communities. It sheds a great deal of light and is an excellent read for anyone interested in Special Operations or Human Intelligence gathering. For those interested in this field, Fishers of Men by Rob Lewis is also an excellent book.

I bought this book along with several other non-fiction special forces titles and based on the description and reviews I found here I was expecting an exciting read. I couldn't have been more disappointed. My criticisms of this book are myriad, so I'll just start with Smith's style. The writing is extremely heavy on quoted passages that do not flow well from one to the next, making for a very "broken" reading experience. My other MAJOR beef with this book is that as far as content goes it reads more like a social-political primer than a military story. Smith covers all sorts of topics that are covered much better in books by Bowden, Beckwith, and Haney. I got the feeling at every turn that Smith was severely hamstringed by security clearances in his attempt to tell this story, which is too bad because it could have been interesting. Instead it was page upon page of very common knowledge recent history, usually culminating in two or three paragraphs of actual operational detail. Boring. I'd highly recommend you skip this book and instead read some works by the other authors I have mentioned above. This one just lacks anything worthwhile.

A good example of government censorship in action.. Wait for the follow up in 2078, or after the fall of the empire, whichever happens first.. Oh, the government wants you to shut up for 75 years after the fact.. yup..

I had the good fortune of segueing into Smith's book after reading Dick Couch's "Chosen Soldier: The Making of a Special Forces Warrior". Unknown to me at the time, Couch's book laid some excellent groundwork to provide a better understanding of the men in SOF.

Smith pulls no punches, revealing how SOF was considered by many, especially senior officers in the US Army, a renegade maverick group of fighters/warriors. Yet, clearly, the Special Operations Teams (Special Operations Forces) are critical to successful warfare. That is particularly true in this era of guerilla and insurgent style warfare.

These "behind-the-scenes" stealth warriors are essential and critical to strategic and tactical operations. They are the men in the shadows, often immersing themselves in the most hostile and dangerous elements of warfare.

This work is recommended to all US Military (and Allied) personnel, even if not considering SOF for their own journey. The good news is that in recent years these Teams have received greater respect, stronger support and more funding. Anyone interested in the "guts and grit" required within this less-revealed aspect of Military operations should take the time to read this book. That includes Military and Civilian alike.

While being both entertaining and informative, the book is severely lacking. Filled with interesting tales, the book never really capitalizes on the term "killer elite". It is more of a story centered on those that gather intel rather than those charged with exploiting it. I would reccomend the new Robert Pelton book in place of this one.

For a book titled "Killer Elite" one would expect more action. This is not to say that the book doesn't provide interesting information on the secret unit the Activity, just that the book is perhaps mistitled. The author essentially rehashes the work of others going over once again Carter's failed attampt to rescue the hostages in Iran, the killing of Pablo Escobar, Kosovo and "Blackhawk Down." The book also accepts the premise of Richard Clarke that Clinton wanted to kill Bin Laden and that it was the military that was too scared to carry out the mission. For all that Clinton is, a tough warrior he is not. All in all a good overview of a secret unit. It is probably a good thing that the author couldn't find out more about the activites of the Activity.

This is a very good book. Very informative and interesting though it has a slight tilt toward the British Gov't as it's author is from the UK. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in the war on terror and how we have developed over the years.

Outstanding book on America's Special Ops. Once started, I had difficulty putting it down. Good job Mr. Smith.

This is a very good book. Very informative and interesting though it has a slight tilt toward the British Gov't as it's author is from the UK. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in the war on terror and how we have developed over the years.

I purchased this book hoping it would make me feel good about our special operation forces but, through no fault of the book, it did just the opposite. Time and time again the reader learns how the efforts of elite units such as the "Activity" are stymied by politics and not allowed to conduct certain operations due to how they will appear in the world arena. Even high-ranking military officials in the Pentagon, who one would presume would provide full-support for these units, appear to do everything possible not to employ their use. When they are used they are not always used properly. Special operations forces have been around for a long time and are the wave of the future. Unfortunately, our politicians and military leaders are clueless and/or spineless in putting them to good use. I think this book is well-written and factual, but the reader is left with a bad taste when the book is finished and is left wondering if there is really any resolve at all by our government to combat our enemies.

As a writer on intelligence matters, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the worldwide activities of the U.S. military's Special Operations Forces, as seen through the spectrum of the U.S. Army's secretive clandestine intelligence unit formerly known as the "Intelligence Support Activity." Not only is Mr. Smith's book very readible, but it is also very informative and thought provoking about the vitally important role played by the U.S. military in trying to combat the growing number of terrorist and insurgent threats around the world.

Regardless of where you come down on the political spectrum about U.S. foreign and military policy, this serious book is important because it reminds us that U.S. Special Operations Forces have played an important, albeit secretive role in virtually all significant counterterrorist and counterinsurgency operations since the end of World War II, and that their role in the war on terrorism is becoming increasingly important.

Mr. Smith has a well-deserved reputation for being a top-flight military affairs reporter in England, and this book further confirms his standing as one of the best in the field.

The book was what I expected and it was delivered to me while I'm deployed in Iraq. Thanks Amazon!!

Mr. Smith has tackled a difficult, at best, topic to research and write about. I am recommending the book to everyone in Chapter 85, Special Forces Association at our next meeting. As a former Special Forces soldier and graduate of the Army's COTA Course I can relate to many of the operational unit developments Smith covers in, ' Killer Elite ". Having had the pleasure to serve with and /or meet some of the 'characters' mentioned I can attest to the accuracy of the information provided. Mr. Smith, you can be sure I'll be reading your other works.

This book purports to tell the story of a group once known as the Intelligence Support Activity (ISA). The author says that this group was formed after the failed rescue attempt to get the hostages out of Iran. He also says that they may have had name changes, but that they still exist as a very heavy duty fighting force.

All in all, I believe him when he talks about such units existing. They exist within the Army, the Marines, the CIA, the FBI and possibly even in other organizations. I have a certain suspicision that some of the incidents, some of the people discussed here may well not be with the ISA at all but with groups so secret that even the names are unknown.

I also hope that the ISA, an Army unit (indeed any other military unit) was not used as the actual shooter of Pablo Escobar the Colombian drug baron. That would be illegal.

This is an interesting look into the world of black ops. Even if Mr. Smith gets some of the details wrong, the story of these operations is very interesting.

Who knew? I was never part of the military and usually don't read a lot of this stuff, but I thought it would be interesting to read about Amerca's most secret and elite fighting unit. I wasn't disappointed. Plenty of action, lots of fascinating detail. Can't recommend this highly enough.

The US Army Intelligence Support Activity was created after the failed attempt to rescue the hostages at the US embassy in Iran. Its purpose was to provide intelligence in a timely and accurate manner to special operations units like Delta and SEAL Team Six. The ISA placed teams in Beiruit, South America, Iraq, and Southeast Asia. Then amid publicity, they were disbanded. Kept in existence operating under code names in the 90s, they appeared in books like Black Hawk Down and Killing Pablo as units doing electronic surveillance. After 9/11, ISA became part of Special Operations Command, and served as a basis for the British Special Reconaissance Regiment. The post 9/11 operations are covered as well.

This is a compelling read about a little known unit. Those in the know may have heard of the "Secret Army of Northern Virginia," now they can read all about them. I was lucky enough to get ahold of a pre-publication copy of the St. Martin's Press edition last year, that is what I am using as the basis for this review.