Going Big by Getting Small examines how the United States Special Operations Forces apply operational art, the link between tactics and strategy, in the non-wartime, steady-state environments called Phase Zero. With revised and innovative operational art constructs, US Special Operations offer scalable and differentiated strategic options for US foreign policy goals. This book analyzes light footprint special operations approaches in Yemen, Indonesia, Thailand, and Colombia. When a large military presence may be inappropriate or counterproductive, Colonel Brian Petit makes the case for fresh thinking on Phase Zero operational art as applied by small, highly skilled, joint-force teams coupled with interagency partners. The past decade (2002-2012) of operations focused on large-scale, post-conflict counterinsurgency. Less publicized, but no less important in this same decade, was the emerging application of nuanced campaigns, actions, and activities in Phase Zero. These efforts were led or supported by special operations in countries and regions contested, but not at war. This book fills a gap in the literature of how to adapt the means, method, and logic of US military foreign engagements in a diplomacy-centric world with rapidly shifting power paradigms. Going Big by Getting Small is not a yarn on daring special operations raids nor a call for perpetual war. It is the polar opposite: this book contemplates the use of discreet engagements to sustain an advantageous peace, mitigate conflict, and prevent crises.

The emergence of the Internet as a global information network has impacted the conduct of information operations. In their quest for independence from Russia, Chechens have made wide use of the Internet to influence the battlefield. This thesis examines how three Chechen-sponsored websites attempt to influence the Russo-Chechen conflict. The study methodology employed an instrument to describe the design, content, and behavior of the websites. Two websites were analyzed according to this methodology. The third website, by virtue of its unavailability for study, required a different analytical approach that yielded unique data. The thesis concludes that Chechen subgroups use the Internet differently to broadcast actions, mobilize, fund raise, communicate, and unite. The Internet, with its anonymity and ubiquity, offers advantages to small, endangered groups seeking a communications and information management network.