Gen. Stanley McChrystal has been unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new commander in Afghanistan, and has followed up immediately by granting media interviews. Both developments are very significant for reasons that reach beyond the rising levels of Allied troops and violence in that beleaguered country.

            This particular officer has spent his career in the shadows in special operations. In an earlier U.S. Army era, a Special Forces career would have guaranteed being sidelined without possibility of promotion to top rank. During his open confirmation hearings, there were a number of subjects he could not discuss. For example, other than confirming being in Saudi Arabia during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War, all other aspects of his responsibilities there remain classified.

            Unconventional operations are as old as warfare and have been prominent in U.S. history. The American Revolution involved irregulars and raiders using tactics far removed from the conventional set-piece battles of European armies. The image of British Redcoats marching in formation, while Colonial irregulars took cover and fired with great effect, is a very well established part of our folklore as well as history.

            During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor of the modern CIA, was particularly effective in sabotage missions and support for anti-Nazi partisan groups in Europe. Specially trained raiders, such as "Merrill's Marauders,'' were celebrated in film as well as the news.

            The Army's modern Special Forces date from the earliest years of the Cold War, though accompanied by considerable irony. Intense anti-Communist sentiment, directed at alleged subversives at home as well as the new Soviet enemy abroad, came fundamentally to define partisan politics in America.

            During the 1952 presidential campaign, the Republican Party promised to give new emphasis to liberating Eastern Europe from the Red Army. This had very practical political utility in the U.S. given the substantial populations of East European heritage, especially in major urban areas in large states.

            Apparently, the policy of containment that had been developed and put in place with great effort by the Truman administration was to be abandoned. After the landslide election of the Republican ticket of Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon, new Army special operations teams were created, accompanied by increased propaganda efforts.

            However, Pres. Eisenhower then proceeded to lock up Special Forces. He seemed strongly to favor the conventional military. In fact the services overall, especially the Army, were severely restricted by fiscal frugality and tight budget control.

            Special operations did take place but both the President and the Pentagon remained insulated from any acknowledged direct role. In reality, in the White House as during World War II, Ike was very engaged, obsessed with securing accurate intelligence and ensuring that covert operations were successful.

            Policy and posture changed very dramatically with the Kennedy administration. The Army's Green Berets assumed stage center, and the White House became very visibly involved. Special Forces, however, remained a career killer in terms of advancing to general.           

            The growth of revolutionary groups using terrorist means, especially in the more fluid environment since the Cold War, has changed this. Defense Secretary Robert Gates spent his career in the CIA, an unusual path to the top Pentagon post. In consequence, he and McChrystal are well qualified to work together to integrate unconventional warriors in the wider military.

Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of 'After the Cold War'(NYU Press and Macmillan/Palgrave). E-mail him at acyr(at)carthage.edu