After years of training, we were ready for another Iranian—or Krasnovian—hostage crisis. But by 2004, the type of threat that Krasnovia posed was as fictional as the state itself. We were pitted against an enemy and a broader environment defined by interdependence, speed, and unpredictability. And we had lured ourselves into a sense of false efficacy. Every time we ran exercises, we confirmed that the SEALs were outstanding at seaborne operations, that Army Special Forces were unparalleled at hostage rescue, and that the Rangers excelled at airfield seizure. We assumed that it followed that
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