Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhuanet) -- America's Green Berets are stretched so thinly because of their roles in Iraq and Afghanistan that they can't fulfill their roles in others parts of the world, the military's top commando told The Associated Press.

    "We're going to fewer countries, staying for shorter periods of time, with smaller numbers of people than historically we have done," Adm. Eric T. Olson said Monday in his first interview since becoming commander of U.S. Special Operations Command last July.

    Olson, a combat veteran, saw little chance the demand for his special operations forces in Iraq will decline soon. Even as the overall American force there shrinks — from about 158,000 now to about 140,000 by the end of July — the number of special operations forces in the war zone is likely to increase, he said.

    More of these specially trained, often secretive forces may be required in Iraq in order to fill a niche role in the development of Iraqi security forces as the number of conventional Army troops goes down, he said.

    "Nothing I've been told leads me to believe that there will be a reduction" in special operations forces in Iraq, "and the door is always open for an increase in demand, so we're just trying to prepare for that the best we can," Olson said.

    In addition to their role in training Iraqi soldiers and police, U.S. special forces perform small-scale raids, long-range reconnaissance and other secretive operations in search of al-Qaida and other terrorist suspects. They also work quietly with Iraqi tribal leaders to undermine the insurgency.

    Olson said he sees no sign that the strain of several years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan is taking an excessive psychological toll on his forces. The regular Army, on the other hand, has seen a growing number of negative indicators, including a higher suicide rate.

    "Our guys are generally older, they're more stable in their lives — married at a higher rate, and a higher percentage of them have kids — and they're better trained in general than most of the (other) forces," he said. "So I don't think the stress on the force affects us in the same way that it does other forces."

    (Agencies)