| ID | 154330 |
| Title Proper | US paramilitary programs in comparative perspective |
| Other Title Information | CIA, the US Army Special Forces, and the question of organizational form |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Strandquist, Jon |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Assumed in the long-standing debate over which agency, CIA or the Department of Defense, should conduct US paramilitary operations is the idea that these organizations’ paramilitary programs are fundamentally the same kinds of things. This article questions that assumption by investigating the organizational forms underlying these agencies’ paramilitary programs in four empirical cases drawn from South Vietnam and post-9/11 Afghanistan. A typology is constructed around two identified organizational forms: “franchising” for CIA vs. “company ownership” for the US Army Special Forces. Different paramilitary organizational forms are found to have significant operational implications that should inform the paramilitary transfer debate. |
| `In' analytical Note | Defense and Security Analysis Vol. 33, No.2; Jun 2017: p.79-93 |
| Journal Source | Defense and Security Analysis Vol: 33 No 2 |
| Key Words | CIA ; Afghanistan ; Vietnam ; SOCOM ; Paramilitary Operations ; Organizational Form ; Franchising |