OpFor



The OpFor (short for Opposition Force) is a radical communist and military government and the dominant political force in an unnamed Arab country following a violent coup d'état. They serve as the main antagonists during the first chapter of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare during the USMC segment of the campaign.

History
The OpFor, led by Khaled Al-Asad came to power during a violent military coup in the Capital City of an unnamed Arab country, securing its mineral wealth and cementing itself as a major power in the Middle East. Their coup culminated in the dramatic execution of former President Al-Fulani on international television.

Following their rise to power, American marines entered the country in an attempt to remove the OpFor from power. Though the search for Al-Asad was unsuccessful, the Americans were able to score multiple victories during their brief campaign. In just a few days, the bulk of Al-Asad's forces had been pushed back to the Capital City where they were making their last stand. However, as US forces closed in on the last enemy stronghold, the OpFor detonated a large nuclear warhead, obliterating all American forces in the vicinity.

It later became evident that the OpFor had been aided by the Ultranationalist rebels in order to draw attention away from the Russian civil war. The Ultranationalists had been supplying the OpFor with equipment, including weapons, vehicles, and, ultimately, nuclear ability.

Following Al-Asad's capture and subsequent execution by the SAS in Azerbaijan, it is likely that the OpFor either surrendered or were otherwise neutralized as a threat.

A faction called OpFor also appear in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, based in Afghanistan. The OpFor invaded the country and tried to put into a communist state like it was during the Soviet-Afgan War, though it shares some commonality with the previous OpFor organization (Similar faction symbol, posters of Al-Asad, etc). This can be dismissed, however, as the Afghanistan OpFor as well seem to be allied with the Ultranationalist Party, who now control Russia, as a variation of the Ultranationalist flag can be seen on the balcony in which the three unarmed foot mobiles watched the American convoy roll through near the beginning of Team Player. This most likely means that either the forces in Afghanistan are the only remaining soldiers left of Al-Asad's original totalitarian regime or are a group which was influenced by Al-Asad's coup d'état in 2011 and wished to bring "independence" to their nation, as well as stop their "foreign oppression" by the Western nations and saw the Ultranationalists as their organization's greatest ally like Al-Asad's regime did before. The latter is the most likely.It is also a possibility that the nameless country is still sovereign and the current regime still exists even without Al-Asad. Evidence of this includes the language the soldiers speak in. Arabic is not spoken in Afghanistan, and supports the fact that the OpFor are actually foreigners. If they weren't, they would be speaking Dari ( A sublanguage of Persian) or Pashtun.

Equipment
The OpFor was supplied mainly by the Ultranationalist forces of Russia. Hence, they use a mish-mash of primarily Russian-made weapons developed during the Soviet period, including the AK-47, the RPD and the RPG-7, as well as some German and American weapons. Some OpFor wear blue body armour, suggesting that some of their equipment is also gleaned from security forces. Though they are relatively well-equipped, many weapons available to other factions are not present in the OpFor's armory.

The Afganistan OpFor has a relatively better armory, having access to the updated AK-47, as well as numerous modern attachments like the Red Dot Sight. They also seem to have better armor, as they were military-grade ballistic vests as opposed to blue Kevlar security vests.

They have a large assortment of armed vehicles, with BMP-2 and T-72 tanks, as well as an airforce consisting primarily of helicopter dropships and gunships such as the Mi-24. During The Coup, several MiG-29 fighters are also seen. In addition, they also seem to have several infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) such as the armed pickup truck encountered in Charlie Don't Surf.

Small Arms

 * AK-47
 * AK-74u
 * Dragunov
 * AK-47 Grenadier
 * G3
 * M249 SAW (Mounted and Unmounted)
 * M9
 * RPD
 * RPG-7
 * USP .45
 * W1200
 * Desert Eagle (Only used by Khaled Al-Asad)
 * G18
 * FAL
 * Mini-Uzi
 * MP5K

Heavy Weapons

 * M2
 * ZPU-4

Aircraft

 * Mi-8
 * Mi-24
 * MiG-29

Armored Vehicles

 * BMP-2
 * T-72
 * IFV



Nationality
The nationality of the OpFor is never explicitly stated. Reference to the in-game maps does not provide a conclusion either, however, as different missions take place in different locations throughout the Middle East. Some exposition given by Al-Asad in The Coup indicates that the nation was formerly a monarchy before President Al-Fulani was elected. Current and former monarchies would include Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc. While Charlie Don't Surf and The Bog take place within the coastal province of Makkah in Saudi Arabia, subsequent missions War Pig and Shock and Awe take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the Basra Governorate, Iraq respectively. This evidence supports the idea that the OpFor nation is in fact fictional, and was created only for story and gameplay purposes. On a television in the mission Blackout, a news reporter describes it as a small but oil rich country.

In some scrapped single player levels, such as Designated Training the unknown country is specifically called "Saudi Arabia". This explains why most of the action in the Marine campaign is in Saudi Arabia and why OpFor troops use the G3, a weapon in use in Saudi Arabia, also, after Aftermath, the camera goes to a satellite image of part of the country is seen, which the coast looks similar to Saudi Arabia.

The new OpFor in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 fights in Afghanistan. Most likely, they're an occupying force that have conquered the country and the word OpFor is simply used to indicate their roles as the opponents to the U.S. forces in the region. It is possible that the OpFor seem to want to "liberate" the Islamic Republic with their style of government. The OpFor seem to be Arab, since they seem to speak in that language rather than Pashtun.

Symbolism of the small country strongly suggests that the county rules under a Baathist system. Some hints include the colors of the red, white, and black. Another very strong hint is that the symbol pictures two crossed swords which are very similar to the famous "Hands of Victory", a monument made by Saddam Hussein in commemoration of the "victory" of the Iraq-Iran War (Although there was no real victor, rather a cease-fire). Assad has the same name as the Syrian dictators Hafez Al-Assad and his son Bashar Al-Assad, who both rule Syria in a Baathist government. Some uniforms resemble Iraq under the old Baathist regime. For instance, the soldiers wear similar helmets and cloths as the old Iraqi army, the Iraqi Fedayeen (An Iraqi special paramilitary group of Baathist loyalists), and the uniform Al-Assad wears is similar to Hussien's military uniforms. Though there are many hints that suggest Baathism, the star between the two swords can possibly be the Communist Star, but this is unlikely. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, however, the word "Infidel" is seen as graffiti in the OpFor-occupied city in Team Player, which, if it was written by the OpFor, suggests a fundamentalist ideology that contrasts sharply with the mostly secular nature of Baathism.

Some guesses of the reason why the Russian Ultranationalists are allied with the OpFor is that they may have similar governments. Both strongly support socialism, and Baathism does take ideas from Stalinist Communism; in fact, the Soviet Union, during the Cold War, was closely aligned with the Baathist governments of Syria and Iraq.

Trivia

 * The word OpFor in U.S. military training refers to "Opposing Force" that the new recruits face in their training. American forces simply call them OpFor (seen in the multiplayer) for convenience's sake.
 * In multiplayer, OpFor snipers are arguably the worst to use. Their red berets make them more visible than other sniper, which can lead to them being countersniped more easily.
 * The OpFor could be a reference to or based on modern day terrorist groups, like Al-Qaeda or the Taliban. However, they also may be stylistically inspired by the Fedayeen and Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party. They also happen to serve the same purpose as them. The ones in in Modern Warfare 2, however, are most likely based on the two aforementioned terrorist organizations as this unit of OpFor is located in Afghanistan which is a battlefield in the current War on Terrorism but unlike the two organizations they are not exactly militia, they are trained soldiers.
 * The OpFor are only featured in two levels in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Team Player & Endgame).