Taylor SheridanLatest TV series of, Special Ops: Lioness, is about a Marine Raider who is recruited by the CIA to befriend the daughter of a famous terrorist to assassinate terrorists and prevent another 9/11. The exhibition’s marketing material strongly emphasized that it was “inspired by US military projects.” But how true is this, really?
It is true that the Marine Corps created a team of female Marines, called Task Force Lioness, to combat women who may be used in terrorist attacks. Since male Marines were reluctant to recruit women in Iraq and Afghanistan, terrorists began using women to carry out attacks. As a result, Task Force Lioness was created to give the Marine Corps access to women involved in potential terrorist plots. However, Sheridan’s performance takes this idea further and explores the difficulty of building a human relationship with an enemy. As we explore the true details of Task Force Lioness, we will see that it is the inspiration of the Sheridan series, both in terms of plot and theme.
Lioness What is the real entity?
According to a report by the US Marine Corps, Lioness has proven to that is of utmost importance to counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan Base. In both wars, there were no official battlefields and engagements could take place anywhere, meaning This means that military personnel must be ready to deal with an attack at any time. Potential attackers can be male or female, old or young. As a result of this complex environment, where literally anyone can be an enemy, winning over the local population has become an important strategy. This means that Americans will try to interact with ordinary citizens, create friendly bonds, and try to find intelligence that can help the US effort. The problem became that the male marines, because of the religious and cultural beliefs of the Iraqis and Afghans, could not interact directly with the local women. This opened the opportunity for women to be used as tools in the attack.
US soldiers are at their most vulnerable point at checkpoints, where male service members are typically assigned to check for any explosive devices or dangerous weapons. Because men are not allowed to search women at these checkpoints, Iraqi women are allowed to simply pass through the checkpoints without being searched. This presents a huge problem as both women and men disguised as women can sneak through checkpoints with weapons. Therefore, the Lioness Task Force was created so that American women could search local women for dangerous items without violating any cultural norms. This helped prevent women from being used in attacks against Americans.
What is the Lioness Task Force made up of?
A typical Lioness team is made up of two partners: a seeker and a “guardian angel” who is responsible for protecting the seeker. According to the report of Lioness, the team searches about 90-100 women every day. Items discovered during these searches included weapons, large sums of money, anti-America propaganda. Iraq, and photographs of US military facilities. As a result of these findings, the Lioness project was considered a huge success. It not only eliminated the problem of local women being able to pass through checkpoints without being searched, but also allowed the confiscation of items that could put US personnel in danger.
Despite the success of Task Force Lioness, it was never intended to be a long-term project. Instead, Iraqi women were recruited and trained to conduct searches. This helps make the search process more acceptable to local women, who feel uncomfortable interacting with American women who do not speak their language or have a full understanding of their culture. One such local women’s group that is conducting a search for security in Iraq is called the Sisters of Fallujah. This group worked with the Marines to help prevent bombings and other attacks.
The Lioness Task Force team was involved in more than just security
In Afghanistan, the Women’s Engagement Team (FET) will distribute school supplies and hygiene kits. Some FETs also run medical clinics. But perhaps the most prominent purpose of FETs is intelligence gathering. FETs will enter Afghan women’s homes with translators. While the conversations are sometimes about addressing the concerns of women whose husbands are incarcerated, these conversations also serve a spy function. FETs can build relationships with Afghan women and try to find out what Afghan men might be up to. It is this kind of practice, in which American women try to be friendly with their mothers. Afghan women in the interest of collecting valuable intelligence, the most inspiring. Special Ops: Lioness.
As we have seen, the Lioness and the female liaison team are certainly a real and important part of the US war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan – but Sheridan’s performance takes this concept even further. Instead of joining the occasional conversation, Sheridan’s fictional character is infiltrating a family of terrorists. It’s more in the vein of an embedded CIA mission than an on-the-ground security program. However, the idea of being friends with someone while trying to extract information from them is based on a lot of reality. Based on the show’s trailer, it looks like Sheridan will explore the emotional toll that such a relationship can have on a spy. Whatever Sheridan and his team have in store, its theme will certainly resonate with women tasked with finding and spying on Iraqi and Afghan women.
Special Ops: Lioness Premieres July 23 on Paramount+.
