The Portuguese Special Operations Forces as Instrument of Foreign Policy: The Case Study of Afghanistan

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide an exploratory overview of the Portuguese special operations forces as instrument of foreign policy. In doing so, we disclose new dynamics that Portugal employing in fragile states and we discuss its implications for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The research methodological approach falls into a qualitative case study research, which includes more than one method of data collection for triangulation and corroboration purposes. We have found that Portugal is trying to intensify its international relations within the EU, UN and the NATO, while the Portuguese special operations forces have been playing an important role to strengthen its presence within these international institutions. The new dynamics that Portugal is seeking are based on the democratic values, the rule of law and the human rights, to dissociate itself from the colonial legacy and thereby find new avenues of influence. Further research should focus on the new strategic priorities for the Afghan Government and NATO, as these priorities are changed at a relatively fast pace.

Counterintelligence in Afghanistan: Preliminary Credibility Assessment Screening System

“…The Resolute Support is a new NATO-led, non-combat mission [10], whose main purpose is to train, advice and assist (TAA) the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces and Afghan Security Institutions (ASI) [3]. The Resolute Support uphold the North Atlantic Council Initiating Directive to be a non-combat mission, as we have already mentioned -which implies 1) non-direct participation in counter-terrorism tasks; and also 2) not directly engaged in counter-narcotics tasks; thus, the TAA efforts include, but are not limited to: professional development, logistics, communications, intelligence, medical support, maintenance, aviation, tactical air control, and maintaining a Quick Reaction Force [11].…”

“…The US Office of the Secretary of Defence also argues that CELLEX is used in conjunction with PCASS during counterintelligence vetting/screening procedures throughout all of Afghanistan -the equipment provides: mobile forensic extraction, decoding, and analysis tools that extracts logical file system, and physical data from mobile phones, tablets, GPS units, SIM cards, memory cards, USB devices, and smartphones [21]. The term CELLEX, also known as cellular exploitation, is intended to capture and retrieve data from electronic devices 3 in support of PCASS operations, as the latter are usually not valid as evidence in court.…”

“…The war in Afghanistan practically required the participation of all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) [3]. So it seems quite clear that with so many troops on the ground, insurgent activities would also have more targets of opportunity to shoot down.…”

“…Currently there is a need for 90 PCASS instruments and 26 CELLEX machines to perform basic counterintelligence operations across Afghanistan[20] 3. Extracted and decoded data includes live and deleted data such as: contacts, phone numbers, call logs, text messages, SMS messages, app data, pictures, location data, voice messages, and social networking information[20].…”