-Spetsnaz is a Russian special police forces unit, it operates under the umbrella of Russian Law Enforcement as I understand it.

Its difficult to really compare the SF units that exist throughout the world because each is designed for a different mission. SEALs? They were created originally as underwater EOD and limpet mining specialists. However we're getting into the brass tacks of things here, the real players in this debate is USSOCOM, Sayeret, CANSOFCOM, UKSF, etc. This encompasses all of the units from each of the parent nations (IE: USSOCOM; SEALs, Green Berets, Delta Force, etc...)

Even with this redefinition, each one is tailored to a specific mission. In my experience as a F-16 pilot and all of the grapevine information that entails, USSOCOM has the most diverse set of talents and could almost be described as an elite "unit of the line" of sorts, working as a Jack-of-all-trades. The Sayerets, while not having as diverse a focus as USSOCOM units, are very effective at surgical operations a la munich retaliations, and other operations consistent with their ongoing conflict with subnational military irregular units, and have been aided by the fact that Israel does not frequently use them; ergo their tactics are still somewhat unknown and their modus operandi undetermined. CANSOFCOM isn't a push-over when it comes to what they do, which is mainly GSG-9esque operations of law enforcement spec ops, but they are not even close to the top of the heap because JTF2 and other constituent units are designed to be more of a beefed-up cop unit than an actual military unit. The UKSF is also very good at three areas they specialize in; airborne and maritime spec ops, and irregular-based reconaissance, but that does not mean they are trained to be a tough-as-nails draw-a-line-in-the-sand-and-hold-it military unit, they are a rapid strike force. To find delineations like that, you have to go and examine specific units...

Now some folks may disagree with me, but in my opinion the break down is as follows:

1. Shayetet 13 - Israeli Naval Commandos, frankly these guys can accomplish their mission without any outside assistence, they already planned for any contingencies before going in, and carried a big enough gun to deal with those contingencies. Friends of mine in the IAF who have worked with this unit as recently as Lebanon have said that their request list is a "black box" (Israeli term for no operations area) around where they are operating; nothing more, nothing less.

2. SEALs - Like it or not this unit is probably the best among USSOCOM units because of their ability to deploy in a myriad of ways, accomplish their mission quietly and with a minimum of fighting, the quintescential requirement for a unit which is not designed for heavy combat; if you need that then call in the Rangers or something.

3. SAS - A unit which has spawned over three dozen copycats has to be lauded for something, because copycats such as Delta Force aren't created on a model that is inferior in some manner. They'll camp out for three weeks on three days' rations in that uniquely British fashion exuding genteel mannerisms, and they won't complain about the lack of tea.

4. Delta Force - Sure, other nations pride themselves on having a crack SF unit, but in reality, the Army's DF is one of the top units in the world, and I have no qualms lauding them as such. Their work in Afghanistan spanning the first four years of its reconstruction and the near absolute security in the region are a testament to their ability to enter a scenario and reforge their operations on the fly.

Honorable Mention: GROM - Some of you may be scratching your head at this after my comment about no copycats, but the Poles have a serious chip on their shoulder; they want to be well regarded on the world stage. As a result they are by far some of the most resilient SF guys I've heard of or seen directly in action, quite possibly the 300 Spartans of our era. I had the pleasure of directly supporting 7 squads of these soldiers operating in Afghanistan, providing SEAD services for their exfil choppers. I expected to be eating FIM-92s and SA-7s for the 45 minutes exfil was scheduled to take, but to my amazement they maintained spacial awareness of my Viper's position and were able to sight in MANPADS personnel and take them out within 30 seconds of missile launch at ranges in excess of 1000 meters from their position, making my job considerably easier (probably saving me from taking a hit, as their afteraction report stated a confirmed 12 launches within 15 minutes against SEAD CAP, during the interval I was "in the slot"). To maintain their perimeter and do part of someone else's job at ranges where I would consider infantry ineffective is a conspicuous achievement.

Unfortunately, there are not a whole lot of available actions for other groups from which we can draw any conclusion as to their effectiveness, sure the GSG-9 rescued hostages off of airliners, but so has the US SWAT teams, Sayeret Golani, and many others, and such singular actions should not be taken as a barometer of their effectiveness. At the end of the day, one should be thankful that these units exist, because we can all agree for certain, that their actions in the real world geopolitical climate we live in has made it safer. My superiors may eye the Russians with suspicion, I might discount the French for the jokes of french rifles which have never fired a single round and yet still have discharged their firing pins ("I surrender!"). We're pretty lucky that those nations of the world which might wish to do us harm don't really have these tools at their disposal, and those groups which operate in this fashion do so to an inferior degree (I point to the Battle of Tora Bora).